The Stratosphere

[SOLIS]

[Want to just say it explained the technicals as best it could and move on? I don't have anything to add beyond more 'technobabble'.]

[Echo]

"Alright guys, lets get strapped in. We're about to intersect the atmosphere." Era said.

"Great, I guess we're going in blind." Amiroo said as he hovered over to his seat and strapping himself in for reentry.

A few more moments would pass as everyone strapped themselves in, the planet outside noticeably closer than it had been in the last hour. Then, it came. The craft impacted the atmosphere immediately throwing white hot plasma around the craft, obscuring the outside world from view. The occupants would be thrown forward in their seats as the craft decelerated.

"I hate this part!" Amero yelled over the roar of the inferno outside.

"Just..hang...in there..." Era wheezed out as she struggled for breath under her straps.

The flames subside as the craft fell down into lower hypersonic speeds, the world outside suddenly revealed as though a curtain had been thrown back. It was daytime here, something strange, as only an hour ago the sun had just set for them. Far below they could see clouds and a beautifully bright tropical blue ocean below them. Beyond that, further inland the towering spires of a city were clearly visible.

"See we're almost ther..." Amiroo started, but was interrupted when a loud explosion erupted from the port side of the ship. The craft was briefly filled with a blinding white light, then a galaxy of frightening stimuli. The light was quickly replaced by a dark smoke that blasted into the cabin with a frightening aggressiveness, filling every nook and cranny of the vessel. The ship rocked violently to the left, nearly going inverted. The engines roared to life as they were called upon to stabilize the craft, seemingly to no avail. The craft rolled right, high G's, Weightlessness, then left, Negative G's, weightlessness, then right again, then barrel rolled several times before repeating the process again and again. Shouting and things bouncing around the cabin could be heard through the thick whirling smoke.

"I've lost both forward port and starboard stabilizing fields, they're not responding at all!"

"Quick, back the.."

"Shut up!"

"Just do it!"

"..on the port side..."

"I've lost it all"

"I can't see anything!"

"Somebody do SOMETHING!"

"Open the hatch!"

"Hang on! Amiroo...AMIROO!"

"I got it!"

Suddenly the hatch at the rear of the craft hissed and began opening sending the blinding smoke, as well as a few small articles of debris, rushing out of the rear of the vehicle, disappearing into the dark blue sky behind them. Within seconds, air was clear again revealing that the windows on the port side of the craft were blackened from some sort of fire, some had cracks running their length where objects had clearly impacted them with great force, but that was the least of their troubles. The craft was on it's side, out on control as it were as the craft plunged Earthward. The craft's roof was cherry red from the heat of it's overworked engines attempting to right the craft. At the front of the craft, frantically working the controls, sat Era, and the look of terror on her face was evidence enough that the situation was far outside of her control. To her right was Amiroo, nursing some newly acquired injuries, apparently having been hit by shrapnel from the explosion, his window was smashed in and stained by blood spatter and smoke. The only thing that separated them from the outside was a small energy field holding the shattered glass together. Amiroo had large shards of glass embedded into his arm along his bicep, as well as a small one that found it's way into his lower jaw. Further the craft plummeted: 40,000ft, 35, 30, 25, 20,000ft. Finally, after a few heart stopping moments of free fall, Era managed to stabilize their decent and pull the craft into level flight....14,000 feet from the ground.

"well, that almost ended badly." Era said breathing hard, her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest. She was making off lightly, but she knew full well she had almost not pulled them out of that dive. She turned suddenly to Amiroo, remembering his injuries.

"Sweetheart are you okay? Amiroo talk to me sweety" Era said, fear rising in her voice.

"Do I look okay? I have shards on glass stuck in me." Amiroo snapped, clearly in exquisite pain.

Swift as wind, Tybe was by his side unbuckling Amiroo's seat belt, and pulling him into the back to lay down on the floor between the others seats.

"Is anyone else hurt? Everyone okay?" he said as he crouched next to Amiroo, flipping his medical bag off his back, opening it, and started pulling out some very alien looking medical supplies. Clearly his advanced training as a doctor was kicking in.

"Alright Amiroo sit still, you're gonna be alright bud, just hold still" He said pulling a headset of some kind from his bag and placing it on his head. It turns out to be a head mounted light. He inspects Amiroos wounds carefully, working the appendage very cautiously. Amiroo groaned in agony as Tybe did so. After Tybe was satisfied, he turned to his bag, never letting go of Amiroo's arm, and pulled a foot long metal rod out. He brought the metal rod to his mouth and gripped the object with his teeth. Upon pressing the end with his now free hand, the rod began to glow a faint blue, much akin to the light of a black light. Their Mobian friends might be taken aback by Tybes face being seemingly mutilated by the rod as his blood vessels, bones, and tissues suddenly became visible to the naked eye. Tybe brought the device down toward Amiroo, his face returning to normal as the object moved away from his face. As Tybe moved over the wounds they would be able to see the internal tissue damage as well as Amiroo's skeleton and major blood vessels moving through the area.

"Oh good, none of them hit any major blood vessels" Tybe said releived.

"I'm gonna live?" Amiroo asked.

"yeah"

"excellent, that's always good news." Amiroo faintly smiled.

"Yeah, it is. But, here's the bad news. I gotta pull these out."

"I knew you were going to say that."

"yeah, well, lets do this. Suck it up there champ"

Using the 'portable MRI device' as a guide, Tybe began pulling the Shards from Amiroo's arm, the largest of which was 6 inches long and almost an inch thick.

"You are one lucky raptor, if your arm hadn't been in the way, this one would have pierced you through the heart. That would have decidedly ruined your day." Tybe said.

"yeah, that'd been bad eh? Die before I even got to the battle. My parents would never get over that kind of embarrassment."

" I think they'd care more about the fact that their son was dead, not how he died." Tybe said shaking his head. "But, you're not going home in coffin today...at least not from this."

Amiroo simply stared at the bloody, nearly life ending, shard as Tybe laid it down with the collection of other shards he had dug out of Amiroo.

When Tybe was finished, he pulled a small pen like device and sprayed a foam into the wounds and held them together a moment, sealing them.

"That should do it, you should be good now." Tybe said packing up his stuff.
Amiroo hobbled to his feet, the other raptors patting him on the sides as he made his way back to the front.

"you can't get outta fighting that easy!" Amero said laughing.

"Aw Amiroo get a booboo, poor hatchling." Rye mocked.

"Oh man, I forgot I work with a bunch of comedians" Amiroo said rolling his eyes as he retook his seat.

[to Robotropolis]