On Ice
Who: Jilleen Simmons, [TBD] Where: Persephone Highlands, Aerilon When: After escaping from Sagittaron
“Krypter! Krypter! Kypter! Colonial Raptor Four Six Constellation declaring emergency. Engine troubles, attempting to land. Anybody out there, over?” Jilleen called over the wireless on the emergency channel while Elihu prepared to land the plane onto a snow covered field. She had no idea that the communication antenna was gone from the raptor. The navigation computer had been haywire while searching for a plot and bearing signal.
“Krypter! Krypter! Krypter!” she repeated in vain. Elihu asked her to deploy the landing gear while he concentrated on flying. She pulled the lever, and heard the mechanical sounds of the gear extending below. A red light appeared on the control panel. “Nose gear is not locking.” She automatically pulled the lever again, and the light cleared. “Okay, okay gear locked.”
The raptor cleared the pine trees at the edge of the field with barely enough room to spare, then at the right moment the raptor flared. Followed a second later the rear gear made contact with the ground and sunk into the snow. Next the nose gear made contact with the ground when the raptor leveled. The view outside the canopy erupted in white, as the raptor plowed through the snow. It skidded on the snow covered frozen lake which they had mistaken for just a plain field and then finally came to a stop.
Her actions were automatic. “Shutting down the engines,” Jilleen quickly switched them off. As per procedure, she heard Eli ordered everyone to evacuate from the raptor in-case a fuel line had ruptured to cause a fire. The hatch was opened and whatever warmth was inside the cabin was immediately replaced by the cold.