4797/Minor Adjustments

Minor Adjustments
Date of Scene:	09 July 2018
Location:	Frigga's Mercy - Earth Orbit
Synopsis:	After some course correction, Nuala and Kal-El meet onboard Frigga's Mercy.
Cast of Characters:	Superman, Nuala Duvall

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Superman has posed:
Frigga's Mercy was about 15 minutes past its apogee, its orbit widening and speed slowly decelerating in its cyclical orbit. The main bay seems empty with the shuttles strapped to the hull as makeshift thrusters. Asgardians can be seen going back and forth across the deck and throughout the corridors, tending, repairing, jury-rigging; doing whatever they can to keep the ship going another day, week or month.

On the bridge, alarms sound.

"We are firing retrograde!" the Asgardian at the navigation controls calls out.

"What?!" says Bjarke, in command of the bridge for the moment. "How?"

"One of the shuttles," the navigator exclaims. "It has fired thrusters unbidden, a malfunction. I believe I can cause it to cease." The navigator points to one of the large displays. The green circle depicting Frigga's Mercy's orbit turns red as its projected path crosses into Earth's atmosphere on their next orbit and continues shrinking.

"Odin's beard!" Bjarke curses and slams a fist down on the communications console.

In the engineering bay, Bjarke's voice echoes over the speakers. "Mistress Magnhild, can we thrust enough to correct an orbit bringing us upon the Earth?"

Magnhild looks up from the jump manifold and across to Nuala. She looks worried. "No, Bjarke, we have no power for such as that. Are you saying we have slowed?"

"Greatly," Bjarke barks in reply. "And if we do not correct it will go ill."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "Timmy," Nuala orderss, give the thrusters a direct shot from the electrical line, Give the Frigga's Mercy a little boost, should let her at least make it another time around the Earth." She turns to Bjarke, "The shuttle's mass has changed the mass distribution, they are keeping us in the sky, but they are also pulling the ship's rotation out of a geosynchronous orbit." She brings up the trajectory. "If we don't get a wider arch, we'll skim across the atmosphere. This ship can take that heat, but she's as aerodynamic as a brick. The air resistance will pull us out of orbit like a thousand ton weight."

Superman has posed:
Bjarke looks grim and nods in agreement with Nuala. "Can your ship yet provide more thrust?" he asks Nuala.

Their forward velocity is picking up slowly, but not enough to return them to a safe orbit. There is a huge difference in mass between the two ships, powerful as Nuala's is.

There is nervous chatter among some of the others on the bridge. And the unspoken hangs in the air; Thor is not onboard.

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "The Sea Song doesn't have strength to move something this size, and it's in the docking bay at any rate trying to relay the slave modules since the software on this piece of garbage is shot."

    She taps up the display. "If we uncouple and detonate a shuttle, that might give enough push, I'm not sure, but it will make certain we don't make another pass. This ship needs to land, that's all there is to it." She starts to bring up the options. "We might make it to western Europe," she says, "Chances are now that we'd land in the Atlantic."

Superman has posed:
Bjarke opens his mouth to say something, but he is cut off by the navigator.

"We are gaining speed apace!"

All eyes snap to the readouts and sure enough, the ship is accelerating faster than it should be able to, and at an increasing rate.

"At this rate, we will have aught we need by apogee," the navigator says. "And indeed too much. We need stop the increase soon."

"Bjarke, look!" says another of the bridge crew. "There is someone outside the hold."

And sure enough, there is. A man in blue with a red cape, braced against the hull in space, as if he were pushing the ship.

"Someone get down there and tell him to stop, whoever he may be, or we will leave orbit!" he says as the orbital trajectory slowly grows out of Midgard's atmosphere and toward its previous size.

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala goes to the observation window. "It's Superman," she comments, both in a bland, matter of fact manner, and with a little surprise. She just stares for a second, and then goes to the window, waving at the Man of steel and giving a motion for him to cut it across her neck. A smile is on her face, nonetheless. This whole scenario has seen its share of heroes. She shakes her head in mild disbelief. "Amazing timing. How did he even know?"

Superman has posed:
"Superman? Is he one of Midgard's heroes then?" Bjarke asks. "Mayhap you could give him our thanks while we lock down the shuttle thrusters. We may not be so lucky in his timing next time."

Kal notices the woman at the observation window waving for his attention and motioning to stop. He drifts back from the hull of the ship and waves back, then floats around toward the shuttle bay. He comes through the force field slowly and lands on the deck just inside thte ship. Kal stops there and nods with a nod to the Asgardian warriors guarding the entry. He makes no move to any further, seeing the wary, suspicious looks from the guards.

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala stands out amongst the crowd, her pulsing Nova slim suit a stark contrast to the more common clothing of the others. She steps forward, less cautious than the rest. "You're Kal-El, aren't you?" she asks, more of a formal confirmation than a real question. She offers a hand in shake, a little direct professionalism in her demeanor. "Nuala Duvall," she says. "Halal Taskforce, Nova Corps."

Superman has posed:
Kal smiles and shakes her hand. "I am," he confirms with a smile. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Duval. And thank you for your help, I wasn't sure how far to go."

Then he cocks his head slightly. "I've heard of the Nova Corps, but I didn't know there were any ships around Earth. What brings you here?" he asks, curiously.

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "It..." Nuala pauses, "It is a really long story, there are no Nova ships around Earth. I am not officially here." She's clearly human, which might make the mystery deeper. "I am currently helping the Asgardians," she says, then motions to Kal-El, "Though I think you are far more able," she admits. "The Asgardians are stuck trying to maintain orbit while the humans decide whether they are going to accept their inevitable landing," she says, giving the short version.

Superman has posed:
Superman says, "From what I've heard, you and the Asgardians have been making a heroic effort to keep this ship together," Kal says, walking a bit away from the force field with Nuala as the guards relax. The curious, seeing the stranger in the red cape immersed in conversation with the Nova Corps member start to disperse. Nuala is well enough known around the ship by now that she was trusted.

"You look a little short to be Asgardian yourself. Xandarian?" he asks."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala grimaces, "Someone lied," Nuala dismisses. "I am just using what I have to help. Another day at the office, as the humans would say. No, I am not asgardian, or Xandarian. Can I claim Astonian?" she asks, a pop of her head as if it should be somehow a serious suggestion. "I am biologically human," she confesses, giving little further explanation. "I am sure you have more interesting things than myself, though." She motions to her own ship, the Sea song, which rests in the docking bay nearby. "I have been trying to keep their software refreshed, it corrupts with the power shunting every few hours. I have been just following standard emergency system protocols and adapting for the fluxuations. I do not know if I would call that heroic."

Superman has posed:
Superman says, "Heroes never do; they just say it's what needed doing," he says with a bit of a smile. "You're doing more for them than most. Thank you for that."

"How does a human end up in the Nova Corps?" he asks, almost rhetorically as he looks over to her ship. "Can I see your ship?""

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala smiles, and the blush is hidden by a cover of her official demeanor. "It is not hard, really," Nuala says, motioning to her ship. "You just have to fall into an awkard situation after being infested by the Brood and rescued, then have no way to get back for the next few decades." She shrugs, motioning to the ship to shift the attention a little. "She is home, you are welcome aboard. Timmy," she instructs the AI who remains unseen. The ramp drops on the rear of the ship. "The law says I may not let any native species board the ship, but you are not technically native, so it should be fine."

Superman has posed:
"Is that all?" Kal says, with a chuckle. Then he looks inside curiously when the ramp drops. "Is Timmy the ship's name?" he asks and moves to follow Nuala up the ramp once it is fully down. "How long have you lived onboard?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "TME-2301 is the A.I. model," Nuala explains, "I call him Timmy. I named the ship Sea Song when I received her to come to Earth. I am told that humans call ships by female pronouns."
    The ship isn't spacious, but it's clean. An armory is in one corner with a much larger suit than the one she is wearing, a small cargo area, extra quarters, her own quarters. A single bed medbay, a living area, and a cockpit. Despite the filtration systems, the ship smells of coffee grounds. "I am not sure how long I have been on it by Earth years. Between this and a few others... most of my life I suppose." She looks as if she isn't sure what else she is supposed to say. "You are very curious," she admits. "You do not think I am here to harm anyone, do you?"

Superman has posed:
Kal smiles a bit at that and shakes his head. "No, Ms. Duval," he assures her. "I think you're here to help."

Kal looks around and then back to Nuala. "I like to know who's around, that's all. And you really are the first Nova Corps member I've met. Sometimes even I get curious," he says with a wink. "Will you be around for a while to help with the Asgardians?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala tilts her head. "As long as they want me to," she says. "And as long as the ship stays in the air. Before you showed up, it was starting to look like we were going to have to land whether anyone wanted them to or not. They can't stay here forever."

Superman has posed:
"No, it's true. I'm not sure what will happen with that; it's out of my hands," he says, brow furrowing. "But I'll keep an eye on you. If you start to come down by surprise again, I'll be back."