Act I: Mercurian Underground

[Ebiris]

"Right," Rowan nods, stepping forward to sit in the co-pilot's chair and setting her helmet down. Reaching over, she activates the communications array. "Lunar control, this is Silver Star, calling from Mercurian orbit. Do you read?" she asks, depressing the 'send' button before releasing it and sitting back. "Something like 15 minutes till they reply, I think," she says to her colleagues, glancing at the digital clock nestled amidst the controls.

[Carthrat]

"They'll reply 'Silver Star, this is Lunar Control. We're reading you. Over,'" comments Arkian, wryly. "While you're at the station, send them the data from the surface scan."

[Ebiris]

"I'm only following proper protocol," Rowan replies peevishly. "There's no great rush."

Despite that, she does as Arkian requests.

[Carthrat]

Arkian taps a couple buttons on the console and tells the ship to stay right where it is.

"We may as well have breakfast," he says, getting out of the cockpit and going to the kitchen to make his statement a reality.

[Halbarad]

Arkian has little trouble in procuring something to snack on while the explorers wait for the reply. Ten minutes pass... then twenty... finally, almost half an hour after the original message is sent, the console returns to life with the sound of Dr. Mizuno's voice. "Good to hear you, Silver Star. What are your plans so far? Over."

[Ebiris]

Depressing the 'send' button once more, Rowan speaks up. "I've already sent you our surface scans, Mission Control. We're planning to investigate the site on the Northern hemisphere that we can land the ship inside, until the Mercurian capital passes onto the night side, at which point we will move to investigate that area.

"Any intel from your side on the landing sites would be appreciated before we commit, however. Over"

[Halbarad]

After the expected delay, Ami replies. "I'm afraid we don't have much more to give you than what is already in the ship's computers. The large entrance is likely the gateway to a city; the fact that it's large enough to admit the ship means that it likely leads to a docking bay of some sort. The smaller entrances could be any number of things - anything from emergency escape tunnels to maintenance entrances. It's very difficult to tell without getting a look at the tunnel itself."

[Ebiris]

"Thank you, Mission Control. We will proceed with our stated plan, in that case. Next update will come after we have landed. Silver Star, over and out," Rowan concludes the conversation.

[Carthrat]

Arkian nods. "Everyone, I'm going to take the ship down to the surface, now. Suit up and sit down, because atmospheric entry is always a bumpy ride.

I'll take her in near the northen entrance, and we'll work out what to do from there. There's enough to time to compose a poem or speech upon landing, if that's your thing."

Once everyone is seated and ready, Arkian takes the ship in..

[Halbarad]

The ride down is pretty smooth, actually. Mercury has almost no atmosphere to speak of, so there are few bumps from air pockets or other atmospheric disturbances. Within twenty minutes, the ship touches down on the Mercurian surface with a slight jolt.

[Ebiris]

Unbuckling from her seat, Rowan picks up her helmet and makes her way to the airlock. Setting the helmet on and checking the seals are intact, she then tests the radio. "Testing. You guys can hear me?"

[Carthrat]

"Gotcha," replies Arkian, in his own mouthpiece.

Quickly donning the magic-based oxygen/pressure generator, he follows after Rowan..

[Ebiris]

Rowan continues milling around the airlock while she waits for the others, not really wanting to be the first person on Mercury when she doesn't have any kind of stirring speech prepared.

[Jon]

"I hear you," Michael says, following the others to the airlock. "So, who's gonna play Armstrong?"

[thepanda]

“I wouldn’t mind the role,” Christopher says, decked out in one of the more traditional spacesuits. “Then again, Rowan has the best background for this kind of thing, being all friendly with the queen and whatnot.”  

“’Course, if you don’t want to there are still plenty of other planets in the solar system. Maybe Mars is more up your alley, eh?”