Raven Rawne

The pilot seemed relaxed, content even, finally in her element. She was holding the stick with one hand, making slight adjustments to their course, enjoying the peaceful glide. "And here comes Pathfinder 1. Damn if they're not gunning at top speed... I wonder why is that." Crystal Clear mused aloud, but didn't bother to contact the other ship to satisfy her curiosity. The other Pathfinder ship was closing in fast, heading back to the mothership

"... careful what you wish for." The crystal mare remarked and pushed the throttle without warning. Their craft shuddered and launched forward into open space. "Pathfinder 2 here, the gate is clear and we are en route to the landing zone." The dock was on starboard side of Final Frontier, this time hidden in shadow and away from the planet. Crystal shot forward to clear away from the gargantuan ship, then engaged the manouvering engines time stop. The small ship turned around, and the ponies could admire the view of their mothership, and the planet it orbits. "Hmm... This is the stuff why I took the void pilot training. Only the Empire at sunrise can beat this view." Crystal looked back at her navigator, and nodded at the view. "What do you think? Doesn't look quite as our home, doesn't it?" The pilot resuned her duties, and the ship lazily skinned under the behemoth, then took a turn to head the same direction as the mothership, until they left Final Frontier behind them, heading towards the atmosphere entry zone.

@Scare Effect The mare glanced at the console and it informed her that the extrnal power was cut off - now the little ship was running on it's battery power, so, she had to make it quick before they engaged the engines on... A beep and some metallic noise marked the moment of the rear ramp closing, finished with a hiss as the hull pressurized using the internal air tanks. Crystal Clear galnced gack at her navigator as she came back, nodding. "We're almost set, Magicka. Sorry for the wait but I just like being sure nothing malfunctions when I need it. Now, if you could give me an updated flight path with the new starting point? We're not in position we would be at 8 AM, obviously. Just estimate Final Frontier's position is, say, ten minutes and use it as our starting point." Crystal flicked the radio on again, and hailed the comtrol tower of their mothership. "Pathfinder 2 to Final Frontier, first parade finished, we are ready to start up the engines, over." A click, followed by a mare's voice was heard in both flight helmets. "Copy that Pathfinder 2. We'll taxi you to the launch gate and close the airlock. Once ready, gives us an all clear to open the outer gate for you to lift off. Final Frontier out." The small scout craft shuddered, as if protesting, but soon enough, started rolling forward as the taxi car pulled it forwards to the airlock. Crystal Clear flexed in her seat, making herself comfortable before fastening her seatbelts and making sure her suit was locked where it should be. She adressed her navigator over the intercom: "Altight Magicka, this is it! Any last words before we take the leap into the unknown?" She snickered audibly at her own remark, and the craft halted in place, arriving at it's liftoff destination. The pilot pressed a start button and there was a humming sound above and behind them, as the launch rocket engine roared in anticipation for the moment it's finally released.

@Scare Effect The cockpit was filled with activity: clicks of keys, flashing lights and a rhytmic tapping of the pilot's hoof, as she ran the electronic first parade. Crystal didn't seem to notice she had company at first, murmuring something, with her flight helmet on her lap - once the comms with Final Frontier were cut, there was no need to have it on anyway. The build in HUD and comms weren't that useful for the task at hand. The crystal pony noticed movement in the reflection of the glass canopy and looked back. noticing her navigator, she seemed confused for a second. "Wha-? I thought you'd need as much time as I did to doll up. Eh, anyway, I could use a hand in the system check. they want to kick us out sooner to make room for Pathfinder 1. Don't know why the hurry, but I bet it's nothing good, and the hangar wasn't made with multiple craft on deck in mind..." She glanced back at the console and switched some key on. "Hey Magicka, can you disengage the power feed off the hull so we can go on all internal? And take a look if there's no stuff hanging around that's supposed to be removed before flight. You know, the usual red ribbons, mostly by the engines. I'll test the turret and then we'll seal and pressurize the hull to continue the pre-flight checkup. Once we make room for P1, they won't take us in to iron out some kink, ya know." This time, the mare put her helmet on as soon as the navigator left the cockpit. The HUD in her visor lit up, and the 20mm chain cannon turret on top of the ship slowly emerged from it's secure nook on the top of the hull. The gun started to move around, as if dancing to a tune nopony heard. Whatever it was, it must've been pretty sick though, as the seemingly dizzy cannon retreated to it's nest after a couple tight spins.

@Scare Effect The crystal mare came back to her craft. She was now wearing an olive jumpsuit, sturdy hoofboots, a vest with some pouches and most importantly, the enclosed flight helmet under her arm. The whole getup was designed to be airtight once the helmet and gloves were on, supplied with oxygen by an air tank or a hose. "Well it's not pretty, but it's comfortable and functional..." She remarked to her navigator while approaching. Crystal boared her craft and glanced over the loaded sensoers, then on the larger pod that was already strapped inside. "3 percent sounds good to me! Like, really good in fact. Thanks Magicka." She patted her navigator's shoulder before finally taking the seat. "I'll run the systems check and get this thing ready. maybe get changed as well? Don't know about you but, I just want to be off the hangar and start doing something already." Crystal put th flight helmet on, and secured it on the collar of her jumpsuit. The orange tinted visor glowed a little as the HUD came to life, and her hands started flickering the buttons on her console, engaging the ship comms. "Pathfinder 2 to Final Frontier, reguest permission to run pre-flight diagnostics. Full range with defense and propulsion, over." A moment of silence, thatn a mare's voice answered. "This is Final Frontier. Good to hear you're geting ready, Pathfinder 2, run the diagnostics and report when ready to launch, we need to clear the hangar to take in Pathfinder 1. Over." "Um... sounds good, Final Frontier. Estimated time till ready to launch about... one hour or so, over." "Copy that Pathfinder 2, we need you in the clear as soon as reasonably possible to take in Pathfinder 1. Final Frontier out." Crystal Clear looked over her shoulder but couldn't see her navigator. With a resigned sigh, she raised her arm to tap a message to Magicka. "We lauch ASAP. Get ready and get back." She rolled her shoulders and started to fire up one system after another, and the helmet visor was lit with little dots of green light, as ship diagnostics returned positive results, system after system.

@Scare Effect The crystal mare nodded. "I would appreciate if you do that, yeah. I just want to be sure we didn't this smoothly on our first ride." She looked around the cockpit, as if searching for sonething. Finally, Crystal groaned and stood up to leave. "Ugh, the flight helmet is in the locker room with the flight suit I bet. Welp, take your time with the math I'll change into something more... fireproof. And way less good looking." Crystal Clear walked out of the little ship and to the Pathfinder locker room to don't the flight suit. She was gone for over 20 minutes.

@Scare Effect The crystal mare was casually wandering around her flight unit, occasionally checking something as the few technicians were loading the crates into the cargo hold. She leaned against the side of her ride, and just waited for a moment, until she saw Magicka hurrying towards her. Crystal Clear waved and smiled at her navigator as she approached. "Calculated risk, Magicka. I'm not a fan of early mornings as well, so I try and get a time buffer so I won't be late. But yeah, I wanted to discuss the mission details before we head out. Come inside so we can make ourselves comfortable in the cockpit." She boarded the flight unit and walked over to the cockpit, then took the pilot seat. Taking a look through the glass canopy, the mare engaged the ship computer, now running from an external power souece fed through a thick cable attatched to a hull socket. "So... we're supposed to travel on low orbit, then make planetfall on our target. We will need to land in... six sites marked by command to deliver the sensors and finally make a flyover around the designated area in the desert. One more landing to pack the attatched pod and make our way back. we already have a rough flight path loaded into the computer, but I want to be sure the numbers are correct. Especially the planetfall part, since we could miss our target quite badly."

@Scare Effect The crystam pony parted ways with her navigator. She looked confident, walking through deck B with her iconic marching pace. One of the NCO's got startled by her hoofsteps, apparently expecting some stuck up officer, which made Crystal smirk as soon as she was out of sight. The trip back to her hidey hole was dull as usual, and monstly without any ponies within earshot. The ship was still mostly empty, since only the crititical personnel was brought back from stasis. The doors locked with a little hiss, and crystal Clear was, again, in her little kingdom. A quick sweep ofer the tablet to lock the doors proper, and she took the device off in order to load it on a wireless loading pad, which rested on a tiny folding writing desk.She took her jacket off and hung it neatly on a coat hanger, then took a seat by the desk. The mare frowned, having reached to a plce she usually put the snack and finding it empty. She mutterd something under her breath and rested her folded arms, together with her head, on the desk, sighing. She stayed like thet, staring blankly in the wall, pondering, until her train of though gor derailed and she blinked, inhaling as if woken up. Crystal poked the tablet to look at the time. it was getting late, and with nothing better to do than worry, she stood up, and started getting ready to bed. The alarm was set on 4 AM. ...And it went off like a photon bomb, the annoying sound echoing through the small space. Crystal Clear, being a lady of an ancient, noble race, cursed at it only for a minute before angrily silencing the device. Once the hard part was over, she proceeded to get ready, and went outside of her room ar 5.30, looking like she was expecting an inspecion before heading out. Even her buttons were shiny... She marched into the Pathfinder dock around 5.50, pleased to notice that her bird was already taxied to the landing strip and the technicians were loading some crates into the cargo hold. Probably the sesors. One looked much bigger though, which could be the camera and seismic radar pod. The crystal mare brushed her mane one last time and wend down a flight of steel stairs, to the ground level of this dock, in order to approach her bird. "Let's see if we won't burn to scrap metal during planetfall..." - She said to herself in a rather sarcastic tone.

@Scare Effect The guard looked at the mares and nodded. "Fair enough. Now get some rest, you're taking off tomorrow on 8 AM." Feeling the meeting was over, Crystal clicked her hooves together and curtly nodded, before leaving the room. "We'll be ready." She waited outside for Magicka and said, leaning on the wall. "So... Here we are, getting our first mission. How about we get some rest and meet at the ship at 6 AM, to further discuss the details of our assignment before heading out?"

@Scare Effect The pegasus nodded at the pair and straightened up his posture. Crystal saw he's a junior officer by his pins. "Evening pathfinders. It seems like we have something for you to warm up with. come closer, let me show you." The crystal mare smiled a little and approached the console. At least he wasn't some stuck up guard nailbrain, she thought. "Sounds good to me, so what;s the mission?" The guard started showing them map data on some lication named "Dagger Gorge". What an unassuming name. "As you know, the Final Frontier is about to make planetfall in order to establish our colony on this planet. But we need more data before me commit to a location. And your task is to bring us that data, by setting up a sensor array in this area., as well as do aerial reconnesance. We need to know if the ground is stable enough to support the ship, since it apears the whole planet is riddled with uderground caverns and tunnel passages. Sciencists suspect that's how life managed to survive, hidden from the elements underground and poking out in terrain depressions like canyons and such.But that makes it all the more important to find a good landing site, as you probably guessed." The royal guard looked at the map again. "Since you're at the end of your 12 hour recreation shift, your mission will start in 24 hours, after your night time shift of course. It will be warly morning around the Dagger Gorge, so you'll have plenty of daytime to complete your objective. The sensors will be loaded on your ship, as well as an attatchable camera and seirmic radar that you will use for the aerial reconnensance. All other mission data will be transfered to your tablets ad ship computer. So, any questions?" Crystal Clear thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Drop in, set sensors, do a flyover with the pod, get back. Sound straightforward enough."

@Scare Effect *Beeep* *Beeep* "Ughhh... the hay?" Crystal Clear rubbed her eyes and groaned. She must've nodded off on the bed, and her ears were still being soothed with cellos and pianos. She took the headphones off and looked around. Same plain room. Then, a light flickered on her wrist and she knew it was her wrist tablet that received a message. Still sluggish, the mare raised it to her eyes, squinting a little. "Like I knew..." She muttered to herself and started typing a more diplomatic reply. Just when she was about done, another message went in, but from a different sender. One of those everypony had on their contact list... It was a meeting notification from mission command. Just meeting name time and room number. Crystal sighed and replied to Magicka: "You'll know in 20 minutes." With little time left, she woke herself up properly and put her jacket on. Just a look in a little mirror to make sure she looks professional, and she was out, marching like she seemed so awfully fond of, her steps echoing through the corridor. The meeting room was one of the small war rooms at Deck B, which was basically the soldiers playground, and the only way to reach the bridge and command on Deck A. Crystal felt a little uneasy there, with military types walking here and there and that air of... Combat readiness that seemed to seep out of the walls. Or maybe it was just in her head? Either way, the mare made it three minutes before time and entered the room. It was rather strange inside. Bare walls, no seats, and just one big table in the middle. Not just any table though, for it acted as a touch screen. A middle aged Pegasus in guard uniform was standing over it, fiddling with the data. He looked up and she could hear the doors opening again. A quick glance confirmed it was her navigator, do Crystal nodded politely and announced: "Pathfinder 2 ready for orders, sir."

@Scare Effect "Yeah, that'll do..." The screen lit up and there was a notification on the main panel of Crystal's tablet. She opened the message and saved the sender ID. A beep from Magicka's device caught her attention and the cherry mare looked up and at her companion. "Oh, okay... see you later?" With a little shake of her head, making her mane sway gently, she got back to her plate, eating in silence, as usual. After she was done, Crystal brought her and Magicka's plates back to the window and left the mess hall. She took a "scenic route" back to her little hidey hole this time, walking across the long and well lit corridors and reading the signs as she went. Finally Crystal Clear stood before the doors to her quarters and, with a sigh, went inside. She looked at the prefab interior, mostly bare of personal decor and quite tidy. Perhaps it showed more about the occupant than she would admit. Crystal took off her pilot jacket and hung it neatly, then sat on the bed. Her crystal heart pendant hanging off her neck, brilliant pink reflecting the blueish lights. The mare fished her headphones out of a drawer, took off her hoofboots and laid in her bed, opting to listen to some music and just rest. The small room echoed faint sounds of music, and the mare's ears moved slowly, as if dancing to the tune. The pendant on her chest started to glow a little and she smiled, eyes closed and just enjoying herself.

@Scare Effect The crystal mare nodded, chewing on her rice. She ate insilence for a minute or so, before checking her wrist tablet and typing in something. "I don't know about you, but I'm headed to my room for some rest, and maybe finally visit that fancy gym they made for us around late afternood. that is, unless we get called on our first mission. So I figured, if you want to talk or just call me over, here's my network ID. Just ype a message if you need anything OK?" Crystal Clear held her hand for Magicka to read and type in her ID, so she could contact her through text messages when both are connected to Final Frontier's network. "Alright, care to send me a test text? I'll have yours too then, and besides, we'll know it works in the first place."

@Scare Effect The cherry mare stoppedwith her fork in the air and gave her companion a weird look. She observed magicks for a moment, enjoying her meal, then finally spoke up: "Her, are you... okay? Because I don't expect you're anxiously awaiting the chance to finally get your hands on the dry rations in our scout ship, and fast so you can get more of that..." She picked her snack bag between her fingers and put on Magicka's tray. "Hmm, guess you'll need these more than I do. But if you keep this up, I'llstart charging you with crackers from the dry ration pack. These are actually quite decent, I daresay." Crystal bumped her shoulder against Magicka's and smiled. That last part was a joke, by the way. I just don't want you to get sick down there, or keel over from not eating." She was halfway through her plate, and apparently, got more talkative on full stomach. She looked around the mess hall, now 1/3 full with ponies. "I can't wait to get my hooves on proper ground, you know? Even if it's some alien planet and all. I want sto see the horizon, sit on a rock, and stop feeling that humming this damn ship keeps doing. Flying in that scout ship is a nice bonus too, come to think of it. You think they will send us someplace pretty looking?"

@Scare Effect "Nah, I don't mind at all." The crystal pony led the way to the empty table and sat in the corner. Once she put her tray down, she patted the spot next to her for Magicka to take. Apparently, she liked to choose places from where she could see all the action. She took a glance over the now familiar space. Metal floor, walls and ceiling, the latter two painted white and decorated with some inspirational posters. Though some could also double as satire. The light fixtures placed neatly above the tables, shining their clinical, blueish light. "You know, I actually look forward to getting out of this can. Magnificent feat of equestrian engineering I mean..." Crystal smirked at her companion, probing if her little sarcastic remark was well received. She looked at her plate then. The usual super diet, straight out of the deep freeze: a cup of enritched juice tasting like no fruit she knew of, and a large plate filled with rice hot steamed, complete with some sauce, probably just as packed with extras as the juice. There were also some dry banana cuts in a bag for later. The mare shrugged and began eating. "I like spots like this. You can see the entrance, the kitchen window and most of the tables. Which means I know what's going on, plus I can check out who's awake already." Her eyes caught a mare, very young by the look of her, wearing the doctor uniform. A unicorn, with navy blue coat and charcoal mane flowing somewhat freely. The newcomer took her plate and was immediately greeted by some other ponies who offered her a seat. Crystal Clear patted her chin thoughtfully. "Either I'm getting old, or she looks like somepony on her first grade of medical school. Well, better not get injured then, if we have students in med bay..."

@Scare Effect Crystal Clear stood in the corner of the elevator as it began it's descent. The assembled ponies were quiet, a common thing amongst strangers, after all. She took the time to smooth her clothes, even though there was no apparent need for it. Everypony was headed to the same place. The mess hall - the only one opened do far at least - looked pretty empty. Just a few dozen ponies scattered into smaller groups, and more coming in. Crystal used to eat on her own, taking the free space and her death gkare to her advantage, but, this time it seemed prudent to act differently. She and Magicka took a plate and Crystal nodded to one of the long, empty tables made of stainless steel. "Seems like plenty of seats to choose from. Gives you a hint of the amount of ponies still in cryostasis, I guess. Want to take a seat with me, or maybe you have somepony you dine with?"

@Scare Effect The mare winced a little, and breathed a little more deeply. She placed her hand on Magicka's shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes. "Hey. You have me now, ok? Like you've said, new place, new opportunities." She glanced over Magicka's shoulder at the happy couple who decided to vacate the premises, probably in favor of the mess hall. Crystal patted her navigator and turned to the elevator. "Seems like it's our cue as well. I expected we might get called for our first mission soon so, better get the good stuff while we can, right? Only dry rations once we get Planetside."

@Scare Effect The crystal mare didn't even flinch. Her ear shifted towards her companion's and she idly flickered her tail but, remained motionless otherwise. Only after a moment of silence, did she pick up the conversation. "According to mission data there is no surface water on the Badlands. That's the large area where seemingly nothing is going on. Just rocks and sand everywhere you look. Although, it would be foolish to assume there is no life out there, yes..." Her eyes narrowed a little, and she smoothed her hair curtain with her right hand, habitually it seemed. "You know what? I hope it won't be too hot down there. I'll worry about things trying to eat me when they do show up. But, I guess the planet does look nice from this perspective." Her hand went back to her neck, but this time she fished out a pendant on a chain. It looked like a little replica of the real Crystal Heart, and maybe it was because of the lights around, but it seemed to... glow a little? Crystal Clear just held it idly in her fingers for a moment, before hiding it back and finally looking away from the glass panes. "And I laughed when they said they woke up the mission counselor, heh. Anyway, aren't you going to, you know, miss Equestria? This thing looks nothing like home, especially mine..." Her blue eyes took a side glance on her own reflection in the glass, and the alien world on the other side of it.

@Scare Effect The crystal mare leaned against the back wall of their lift and sighed, apparently recalling the right of her home city. "Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it..." She ran her fingers along her neck and stopped for a moment between the collarbones, also in thought. The elevator gently hummed as it hurled them upwards. Hearing another question brought her back to the present, however. Crystal frowned a little, then started slowly. "It... Wasn't my first career. I had a few jobs before I settled in this field but, it's been around 2 years of earning a living by driving and piloting around. I also do ground cars, bikes, whatever isn't too big for me to get the feel of. My last job was to haul stuff all across the Frozen North, between the Empire and small research stations, outposts, and whoever was looney enough to live outside the Barrier. You might say that my plane was a bit similar to what we have been assigned to." The elevator slowed down and stopped completely, then the doors opened. Some stallion was waiting for a lift down and he smiled to the mares as they went past each other. For some reason Crystal smiled back, but once he was in the elevator, she groaned and theatrically rolled her eyes. The observation deck was quite spacious. There were on the very top level of the Final Frontier and, even though one could see the metal shutters just waiting to cover the tall glass panes, one could feel almost like they were on a terrace outdoors. There were couches in the middle, facing out so the visitors could enjoy the view, and even a horseshoe of them with a table in the middle, right under a glass dome. That spot was, however, occupied by some couple a d Crystal seemed irritated by just how loud that mare giggled every now and then. "Ugh... The planet is on starboard side, come on." She walked to the wall of glass and stood up, arms behind back, like a general looking on his next conquest. Her eyes slowly scanned the planet below, and the glass reflected her stone expression. It seemed that only her chest and those cold blue eyes moved, as she stood like a statue, taking in the view and apparently, pondering over something.

@Scare Effect The cherry mare smirked, as if enjoying a private joke. "Didn't I just assume you're from Canterlot simply because of your horn? Relax, in my case it would be a pretty good guess actually. Not many of us settle outside of the Barrier. You could say we're... Tied to that place." Crystal Clear tapped her crystal heart badge on her right shoulder. As they waited for the elevator. "We feel that need to be close to it, you know. Hard to explain but, yeah, that's how we crystal ponies are. Makes sense why there only little communities of us outside the Empire and even they come visit every now and then." The elevator doors finally opened and she stepped inside, before choosing the observation deck as their destination. Suddenly remembering that she didn't answer her companion's query, Crystal looked at Magicka and nodded. "So, yes, I used to live in the Empire proper."

@Scare Effect She nodded silently and typed the commands into her tablet to close the ramp into their scout ship ad remotely put the systems back into sleep mode. Her ears perked up but the humming from inside Pathfinder 2 soon died and they were good to go. "Alright then, let's go together. I hope there won't be too many ponies off duty like us, not much sitting space there.." Crystal Clear led the two out of the hangar. She stole a glance at her ship before leaving though. The mare walked silently at first, but, before they reached the elevator she finally spoke up. "So... Magika Dust, where are you from? Canterlot perhaps?"

@Scare Effect Crystal Clear was busy shining her name tag with her sleeve. Her ears moved a little, taking in the sounds of her navigator walking and checking out the inside of their new ship. She raised her head to meet the other mare as she walked out, and nodded. "Yeah, everything looks ready for our first deployment! I'm curious what we'll find though. Pathfinder I already ran two sorties and the word is, the place looks great, if a little weird by our standards." With a little push, she propped herself upright and patted her hand on the hull of their ship. "So, do you have any plans until dinner? I mean there's much to do around here anyway so far. I was about to go to the observation deck, take a look at what just might be our new home planet. Unless you have a better idea, perhaps?"

@Scare Effect The crystal mare cocked her head slightly and her eyebrow slowly rose as she took in the information. She then smiled and shook her head. "Duh, that was so obvious! And I got so worried this thing was already breaking down on me, haha!" She leaned against the hull and tapped it, almost affectionately, as she got a good look at the other pony. "So... a navigator eh? Seems like we'll be spending quite some time together in upcoming weeks." She extended her hand for a handshake. "My name is Crystal Clear, I'm your pilot, the other half of Pathfinder 2. Feel free to take a peek inside, make yourself at home. We still have some time before we are sent out on our first assignment, by my best guess it will be after dinner. Since the ship was supposed to be ready around that time." After the brief introduction, the cherry mare lingered a bit by the ramp, as if giving her new partner some space to get aquainted with the ship on her own terms.

@Scare Effect Crystal Clear was consulting the readings between the ship display and her forearm data slate, as she was remotely controlling the turret on the roof. The gun mount whirred as she took a few sharp turns, then clicked after a dry shot. The satisfied pilot nodded to herself and stretched her back, having successfully completed the entire check without one issue. "And I thought I would have to spend my days fixing this ship myself, ha!" Suddenly she froze, hearing a noise at the side of the ship. Quickly consulting the display, she looked for a malfunction, but nothing showed up. "What the Hay..." Crystal Clear left the cockpit, tapping her chin thoughtfully as she walked out side to see what was going on. Only after jumping off the side of the ramp that led to the ship interior did she notice that there was somepony near the Pathfinder unit. Or more specifically, she nearly bumped into her. Taking a step back and looking intently at the newcomer, she said, a bit uncertainty: "Oh, excuse me! But um, have you heard a noise coming from starboard just now, at the front? I was worried something broke but the ship doesn't seem to register any malfunctions."