Orbit

"What's the starting motion of this craft?" 

"You need to snap your fingers, starts the engines, it's already in it's atmospheric mode." 

Marcus snapped his fingers, the interior began to rumble as the roar of the engines could be heard in every room of the craft.

He then extended his arm out, pushing his hand in front of him, the ship started to move in turn, rolling forwards on it's ground-wheels.

"We'll go for an incline take-off, could you transmit my intentions to flight control?" Marcus states, his jargon as a pilot shining through.

"Sure thing." Garr quickly radioed in to the tower, gaining permission for the incline take-off.

A craft has three different ways to take off.

For larger craft, they usually have engines planted through the entirety of the spaceship, so they just hover off of the ground.

For smaller craft, if the engine's only facing the back, they can choose an incline take-off, where the craft is pulled to face the sky, like how primitive rockets were launched, so that the hover engines in the back can take the ship off properly.

Or, if it has the appropriate wings and aerodynamic design, it can take-off normally like a plane.

This light gunship could do both, but Marcus enjoyed the feeling of incline take-offs better, for some reason.

They quickly moved out of the hangar and into the full light of day. 

The 30 metre long vessel lurched towards the colossal supporting frame that allowed it to point 90 degrees upright. It could support ships up to 100 metres in length.

It's massive frame slid down a small ramp, both Garr and Marcus had to lean back upon the little descent that the Renewal faced so they weren't thrown forward.

Marcus visualised all of the people walking around next to the ship on the various platforms, working to ensure a clean transition to the launch incline angle.

A couple of bars suddenly slid forward, wrapping carefully around the structure of the craft as it was lifted off of the ground, Marcus pinched with his index finger and thumb, making the wheels lift back into the body of the Renewal as he had no further need for them.

"Today's our lucky day, Ash Port isn't that busy, if it was you would've been waiting here for at least 40 minutes." Garr scoffed.

"I'm aware, you keep eating your peanuts and let me worry about everything else." Marcus grinned, a newly found confidence as he was placed at the helm of the Renewal.

"I should just use that little clause we signed to shoot you in the foot if you keep acting up, I'll list it being down to suspicious actions."

Garr mused whilst Marcus rolled his eyes, the ship began to rotate upwards, they both strapped themselves in as they were now completely facing the sky.

"Ask for clearance to lift-off." Marcus responded as Garr quickly tapped in the relevant information into his tablet.

"We're cleared." 

Marcus nodded, holding his outstretched hand out as he suddenly thrust it forward. 

The engines shrieked with force as the feeling of near weightlessness suddenly overcame the two in the cockpit.

Emitting an unstoppable amount of energy, gravity had to prostrate in response to the power displayed by the engines, the ship began to climb into the sky at an ever higher altitude.

Garr gazed downwards, observing the quickly shrinking shape of Ash Port as well as the entirety of Centralis, with the exception of the spacescrapers, which kept spanning upwards as though they were infinite.

Marcus extended his hand out even further forwards causing the ship to rapidly accelerate, everything around them shuddered as they darted to ever-increasing altitudes.

Soon even the tops of spacescrapers began to show themselves, and gradually shirked back as the air thinned and the blue skies darkened into an ebony ink.

"We've entered the Thermosphere, I'm transitioning to vacuum engines."

Marcus state this so that Garr can prepare for what happens to the ship once it enters that stage.

The mature looking man instantly clutches his chair, exhaling slowly.

"I always hate this part." He scoffs.

Marcus snaps his fingers once more, the low hum of the hover engines soon disappear as the ship is drowned in an unsettling silence.

The entire craft bends forwards as inertia collides with the two's stomachs like a high velocity brick.

An immaterial sound echoes from deep within the bowels of the engine as the fusion reaction creates a strange and powerful force that blasts the ship into an even higher velocity.

The vacuum engines send the vessel hurtling into the void-black of orbit.

"THERE'S DEBRIS!" Garr shouts as rusty metallic objects catch the light from the sun just a few miles away from the ship.

Marcus is not panicked in the slightest.

I've been waiting for this.

"I'm a Centralis Graduate."

Marcus sniffs as a wide grin etches itself onto his smug face.

The perspective inside the cockpit inverts as the vessel suddenly barrel-rolls, twisting around violently resulting in Garr having to hold in his breakfast for dear life whilst it tried to escape the confines of his stomach.

The space-junk and rock that orbited Earth approached in a mere moment as a result of the ship's incredibly high velocity.

Marcus threw his hands to the side, lifting only his index finger as the rest of the digits on his right hand went down.

The ship narrowly avoided a sheet of dilapidated debris whilst turning, it was twice the size of the Renewal.

The synchronisation on this ship is something else... I can react to practically everything.

Marcus twisted his head to the side, the ship going with it as they looped back into the debris field, much to Garr's shock.

This kid is going to get me killed....

"Make sure your hazelnuts don't fall out of your pocket!" Marcus chuckled as he accelerated into the field of debris.

The Renewal swung around a ripped up metal bar that flew past in a blur of motion before diving under the remnants of an ancient satellite within the same few seconds.

This put the ship on a dangerous trajectory, the vessel looked like it was about to collide with a completely impassable wall of debris lined top to bottom of Marcus's sight.

Garr's eyes widened upon witnessing the scene clearly through the cockpit view, by this point trickles of sweat beaded and moistened his forehead, space travel wasn't always his forte, especially now that he was being violently swung around in outer space. 

He instinctively wanted to let out a scream as they were set to collide with the wall of torn and strewn about space junk, however Marcus lifted his head up, the ship angling upwards instantaneously he retracted his arm bringing the ship to a near stop before extending it out again as far as he could.

The Renewal darted vertically up as though it was riding a colossal wave, that being the wall of debris it glided smoothly over.

Marcus once again craned his neck even further upwards, his pilot's chair started adjusting with it, tilting at a steeper incline to allow for him to almost appear upside down within the confines of his seat.

The vessel mimicked his motions, twirling back downwards as everything flipped on it's head because it turned out the smooth and unobstructed trip across the wall of debris was cut short by an incoming space rock, which Marcus had just turned the ship expertly away from.

"Let's get the Renewal stationary in orbit." Marcus replied calmly, as though he was unaffected by the fact they were hanging upside down.

"Uh huh..." Garr's face was made a bright crimson flush when the blood gushed to his brain, he struggled to get his dark brown hair out of his face as it fell downwards.

So this is the piloting of a Centralis Graduate.

Have mercy on my soul for this coming journey...

The ship tilts to the side as they fortunately exit their state of being upside down.

Marcus drags his hand back to plant it on the armrest, the ship halts all movement as the incessant drumming of the vacuum engine similarly dies down.

The vessel becomes completely static as it floats silently within the orbit of the Earth, moving along aimlessly with the field of debris.

Marcus takes off his slim metal visor to witness the scene uninhibited and with his own eyes.

The perfect and encompassing blue marble fills his sight as it sits suspended in the indomitable airs of a silent universe, completely content. Encased by glittering and bejewelled stars at every angle. 

Everything that he ever knew, all experiences that he lived was contained within it, and he was about to cast it aside, just for a slim chance of preserving it. The two actions seemed to objectively contrast.

It was ignorant, in the grand scheme of things.

But his will was as incessant as the stars that sprinkled the sky, he wouldn't let minute doubts impede his journey.

Gather a crew, gather supplies and set out, that's all I need to focus on.

"Absolutely pristine sight isn't it, never gets old."

Garr yawns as if directly contradicting the statement he just made, just glad there were no more wild motions he had to endure.

"You know it's going to be long, don't you." Garr mutters, but Marcus hears it, nodding solemnly.

"Unlike anything you've ever been through, this whole ordeal." 

"A one in a thousand chance of returning alive, one in a million chance if you count sanity." Marcus stated seriously.

"No need to count sanity, some would deem you crazed already." Garr shook his head with a grin.

"As though you have any room to talk, hollowing out people's skulls with firearms." 

"Fair game." Garr raised his hands in defeat.

"Let's head back down." Marcus asserted.

"It's your call, pilot." 

The ship's vacuum engines roar back to life as they carry the vessel back into the atmosphere, quickly transitioning to the hum of a hover engine.

Before they know it, they're back under the cover of clouds, spacescrapers already towering above them.

They downlink to the spaceport's communications tower, conversing their intent to land on the runway strip.

You couldn't land with the incline platform, only take off with it, only traditional aircraft-like landings worked if you had front engines and a good set of wings.

The Renewal soon found it's wheels on solid ground as they rolled smoothly onto the tarmacked surface of the runway.

It ground to a halt as it began it's taxiing process back towards the hangar.

The two parked the relatively large ship inside, appearing out of the bay doors, Garr was thankful to be back on Earth, as he exhaled with relief.

"My family's having dinner tonight, would you like to join us?" Marcus queried as he stared up at the scruffy looking man.

Garr blinked, hesitating for a moment before opening his mouth to speak, "Don't see why not, I would've probably just had another night with the staff in the offices anyway." 

"Mhm, it would help my father and mother relax regarding the whole thing too, my father more so, if he knows I have a good enforcer working with me, he may be put at ease." Marcus explained.

Ah... so I'm not invited out of kindness, merely as a tool for your family politics... Garr inwardly frowned.

Marcus pondered on something aswell.

I hope he doesn't think I'm only inviting him to cool down my father...

The two walk out of the hangar unperturbed, with the new addition of a leather-wrapped holster sitting on Marcus's hip and a shiny licence embedded within the data of his holo-tablet.

That little wonder-filled stick could serve practically every technological purpose, nothing else was needed but a holo-tablet for any need. It posed quite a problem when it got lost or stolen though.

They opted on getting the shuttle to the last stop near Marcus's house, boarding on time as it whisked them off through Centralis.

As they got off at their platform, Garr whistled jubilantly as he peered around the place. 

People seem to gaze at the clearly exposed firearm upon Marcus's hip, but the two pay no mind to it.

"Nice neighbourhood, you live near here?" 

"Sure do, just don't go to that coffee place, it's unbearable and expensive." Marcus pointed seriously over to the superficial building facing the shuttle station.

"I'll keep it in mind..." Garr hated coffee.

They strolled through the commercial district and down the main street, speedily making it to the side-road that Marcus's parents house sat upon.

The house was quietly stirring as Marcus heard the clanging of plates together, it was already becoming dark, getting into orbit and back down took a few hours.

Marcus strolled casually up to his front door, before he could even reach it however someone opened it for him, the person being his father.

"Who's this?" Frank questions whilst narrowing his eyes.

"My Spacer Enforcer." Marcus scratches his head.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Garr Leonards."