Recession | Chapter 14
“Kate could I show you the kitchen while the boys go off to the cockpit?”
“That would be great, thank you.”
On their way to the cockpit the guys passed more doors through the wide hallway and under a tall doorway into the front of the ship. It looked like a whole lot of controls and screens to Trent. He wondered how anyone could learn what all of the buttons and displays meant.
"Have a seat Quickstar, I'll get the sim booted up for you," Derek said.
"I'm going to run him through some difficult situations that I've never come across in the three some decades I've been flying. If he can handle these then I'd hire him on the spot," Derek said to them with a grin.
He reached down and slapped a few keys in front of Quickstar. The windows which showed the docking bay outside faded to black, and then to a similar scene.
“What just happened?” Trent said.
“What we’re looking at now is all computer generated. The dura-glass windows can also be used to display things for training purposes among other things. This sim starts with a basic launch and when that's complete it'll switch to a basic docking procedure.
Quickstar leaned forward and grabbed the controls. His hands sped from one control to the next with ease, sliding levers here, punching small glowing buttons there. The view on the screen showed them starting to leave the virtual docking bay and head into the sky towards space. After a few moments the screen dissolved to a new scene with the growing surface of a planet in the distance. Trent and his boys weren’t moving, their eyes glued to the screen. They descended and then Quickstar slowed the ship as it approached a docking area on the ground below. He flew the ship down, requesting clearance and getting a reply from a voice through the speakers. Then he brought it in for a smooth dock, with everything lined up perfectly.
"Nicely done, I've never scored a ninety nine. Impressive." said Derek. He reached down and punched in a different sequence.
"Okay, so that’s about what it will look like for you guys most of the time,” Derek said.
“That was breathtaking. I could get used to seeing that on a regular basis,” Trent said.
“I’m glad you feel that way. This isn’t a life for everyone. Now this will probably never happen to you, but it's nice to know where your pilot's skills lie in case of an emergency. The controls here have responsive feedback as if he was dealing with some really bad turbulence from a system that doesn't support flying in it's atmosphere too well. This may be a test, but it’s just about as realistic in testing a pilot’s skills as you can get, other than the machines they have at the Space Force academy,” Derek said.
Quickstar learned how to fly on those machines, but he wasn’t about to brag about it. He had always preferred to let his flying do all the talking for him. As the sim started Trent could see the main controls start to shake. All of the screens were flashing with menacing red messages and the speakers issued forth a barrage of cacophonous beeps. Quickstar remained calm and maintained perfect control of the ship. When it was pushed one way he would correct it with a gentle adjustment and put it back on course. I think I am more nervous for him then he is, Trent thought. Quickstar brought the ship in, and though it was a shaky docking, the words SAFE LANDING. NO DAMAGE TO REPORT flashed across the screen once the ship was locked down.
"Well done! I must have tried that one a hundred times and I couldn‘t even get the ship to land without crashing." Derek said.
“That was so cool!” Jimmy said.
YOU ARE READING
Recession (Trunked Novel)
Science FictionSYNOPSIS: A very successful stock broker, husband, and father of two, loses his job. Due to the shattered economy of their planet, his diligent job hunting proves fruitless. To provide for his family he decides to take a chance, and pursue his lifel...
