Helicopter Pilot: Fransesca Morletti

[Laraqua]

She softly lands the helicopter down on the roof of Ophidian Headquaters in Berlin. Aleksandra Romaschkova and Nikita Mikhalkov are her passengers for this trip. Romaschkova is the Moscow University Dig Leader for the expedition to Kamchatka that has been slowly creeping into the news. She seems highly intelligent when she does speak but she has spent much of the journey since she had been picked up from the air port with her head in a book. She had a desire to be taken to some interesting locations throughout Berlin, hence why she had hired Fransesca.

Nikita Mikhalkov is the Russian Government Advisor who is ensuring the expedition meets all of the requirements stipulated when the permissions were given. Nikita had taken a great interest in the helicopter though her interests run to the macarbe as she's queried multiple times as to what sort of weather-related circumstances could down a plane or a helicopter.

[Dave Syrinx]

Her mind somewhere else as Nikita blurbs weather conditions and the probability of mishaps, Fransesa drops her attention from former team mate Frank, who spent the coming months on a dig for an Australian institute. Maybe she´d head there after the Kamchatka expedition.
"The only thing we´d have to watch out for is not to shut off the engines while staying on top of the building. The wind gusts might throw the bird off of the roof. Keeping the rotors busy will stabilize the heli."
She unfastens her visored helmet and turns the key to the ignition, killing the engines. "Ladies, better hurry!"
Morletti gets some of the luggage for the dig leader as well as the advisor and climbs out of the chopper.

[Laraqua]

The two women follow behind her as they head toward the roof top elevator.

"No need to take all of the luggage just yet. This isn't the hotel where we're staying," says Romaschkova. "I just need my brief case."

The elevator doors open as they approach and a short, curvaceous woman with shoulder-length black hair and slanted, loam-colored eyes comes out to greet them. Her navy blue suit is well-tailored and her black shoes tap out a song on the asphalt as she comes toward them. "Hello, I'm Miss Chiang," she says, in heavily accented English, the German accent nearly overwhelming, as she begins the customary shaking of hands. "I've been to work for Herr Carter today. He is not expect you yet. He is deal with some small problems. I call him and tell him your arrival." She nods and smiles.

Romaschkova begins speaking in German and Chiang looks relieved. The two converse for a little while in German, with Romaschkova turning to point to the plane, before introducing the other two. Miss Chiang says something softly. Then Romaschkova sighs and shakes her head.

[Dave Syrinx]

Taking a step back, Fransesca checks the tail rotor of the chopper. These buerocratic types, changing plans all the time... Everything seems in good working order. The next stop would probably be at some other place to pick someone else up. Hence the busy flight plan with the final destination of that hotel.

[Laraqua]

Romaschkova and Mikhalkova return to the helicopter.

"Что было то, что все о?" asks Mikhalkova

"Была своего рода резня новичков оператора," asks Romaschkova

"Это не кажется правильным."

"Looks like we have to go," says Romaschkova to Morletti. "He will be here in a few hours. The appointment was apparently for later on in the day. Let's go to the library."

[Dave Syrinx]

Fransesca gets the chooper airborne and veers towards the library. "A reluctant customer, eh?" She keeps a watchful eye on the fuel gauge to make sure they doesn´t have to abort the flight to refuel.

[Laraqua]

The fuel gauge is reading three-thirds full. They had fueled up not long before setting off to the Ophidian HQ. The library was part of a private mansion just outside the city limits.

"Mr. Carter is the Ophidian group's funding liason to the expedition. He's the reason why there's been so much awful brightly colored advertising and promotional products," Romaschkova says with a sniff. "It looks like our appointment books have been mixed up. She swears that the meeting isn't on until later, which suits me fine. I was hoping to be able to visit Herr Schneider before the meeting with Carter, anyway. He's an entomologist with insect samples collected at the foothills of the mountains after a particularly powerful storm swept across its peaks. I've seen pictures and spoken to him previously, but I would enjoy meeting him in person."

Mikhalkova leans back in her seat. "I suppose I'll go over the files again. See if there are any further questions that need answering." She yawns and stretches. "Or perhaps I'll just take a nap."

[Dave Syrinx]

Fransesca lets the two, obviously important, women prepare for the meeting with the Schneider character.

[Laraqua]

In the calm weather, its a simple matter to fly to the mansion. Landing is incredibly standard, also. Moments after they land, a butler comes strolling towards them. He bows slightly as the passengers get out of the helicopter. "Guten Abend, Fräulein Romashkova, Fräulein Mikhalkova," says the Butler. "Wenn Sie bitte Recht dieser Weg kommen würden."

"Ja, natürlich," says Romaschkova. "Morletti, you might as well come with us rather than standing with your helicopter."

Mikhalkova looks a little bothered by this but lets it slide.

[Dave Syrinx]

Fransesca wipes her hands against the flight suit and trots after the others. She nods to the butler and supresses an urge to ask him to park the vehicle somewhere safe.

[Laraqua]

The butler leads the trio down a short flight of steps into a large corridor where a uniformed maid crosses from one room to another. He leads them down another flight of steps where they pass through an interior garden, moving across a small bridge over a gurgling creek, to the right across some plush carpet, down another set of stairs, to the left past a series of mahogany doors behind one of which a gramophone plays an old German Jazz song, and then to the right down a series of deep steps, through one door, into a short corridor, then through a pair of double doors.

Another gramophone plays a song. It sits to the right on a small, ornate table on the far right of a rug that sits sprawled before the roaring fireplace. A leather couch and two leather chairs sit somewhat on the rug, surrounded by 7-foot-tall book cases that plunge into the further reaches of the two-story windowed library.

A middle-aged moustachioed man sits on one of the chairs, a pipe lazily pressed against his lower lip, as though deep in thought. Upon seeing the three women and his butler enter, he stands and bows slightly. "Gut, gut sind Sie hier. Das ist sehr gut. Sie sind früher, als ich vorausgesehen hatte. Ich freue mich auf unser Gespräch. Aber was ist das? Ich erwartete drei von Ihnen nicht."

Romaschkova smiles a smile that doesn't touch her eyes. "Herr Schneider? Ich bin Romaschkova, das ist Mikhalkova, und das ist unser Pilot Francesca Morletti. Ich dachte, dass sie ebenso im Stande sein könnte, anstatt einzugehen, ganze ihre aus einem Hubschrauberfenster starrende Zeit zu verbringen. Ich hoffe, dass Sie nicht achthaben."

"Nein, überhaupt nicht. Mehr das fröhlichere. Außerdem ist sie ein ziemlich hübsches junges Ding." He chuckles, looking Morletti up and down.

[Dave Syrinx]

Catching the phrase "the more the merrier", and the gleeful looks she received by the not-so-old fart, reflecting on whether to react to being called a thing, Morletti lets it slide, smiles and says, "Könnt man etwas trinken kriegen? Una birra fresca, per favore!" She zips the flight suit properly and leans towards the door post, still smiling.

[Laraqua]

Schneider rises up from his seat and gestures around his library. "So viele Bücher. So viele Themen. Man konnte so sehr viel auf diesem Kamchatka-Platz einfach finden, indem man diese Bücher ansah. Ich habe geschafft, so viele der Texte zu beschaffen, die sogar vorübergehende Verweisungen auf das Gebiet haben. Aber das ist nicht, warum Sie hier sind. Sie sollen hier die Leichname jener gefundenen Kerbtiere ansehen. Besonders die Pilzkerbtiere, deren anatomische Funktionen aufhörten, einmal genommen vom Berg zu arbeiten." He starts ambling down the aisles. "Irgendjemand wünscht ein Getränk, bevor wir angefangen werden?"

"Ich möchte einen Apfelsaft, wenn Sie es haben," says Romaschkova.

"Etwas Frühlingswasser mit einem Hinweis von Limone," says Mikhalkova.

[Dave Syrinx]

"Ich möchte ein bier, bitte." Fransesca says and eases up as the others order their drinks of choice. She walks over to the professor, "Ach so, Sie haben etwas besoneres tieren finden haben? Können Sie English spresschen, meine Deutch is sehr schlächt..."

(Pardon my hack saw German...Don´t even know if it qualifies as German )

[Laraqua]

"Es tut mir leid, dass ich Englisch nicht spreche. Nur Französisch, Deutsch und Latein," says Schneider.

[Dave Syrinx]

"OK, ladies, let´s do your business and then we´ll have our drinks and be gone, yes?" She looks at Schneider "This Heffner guy gives me the shakes...Hope the beer´s good!"

[Laraqua]

Mikhalkova smiles but Romaschkova frowns at her boisterous display. Schneider leads them into a back area as his servant goes off, presumably to fetch drinks. He leads them into a small side room that contains a pool table and an array of insect specimens pinned to boards behind glass that line the walls. He takes them to a small display cabinet that contains what is apparently his most favored specimens. He gestures to one plate of pinned insects. There are nine insects, similar to grass hoppers in appearance, but have a brown, almost furry look, as though they were completely covered in mould. "Diese sind es. Die Pilzmuster."

"These apparent insects are entirely of the Fungi Kingdom," said Mikhalkova, for Morletti's benefit. "These were once mobile but died soon after being taken off the mountain. Most have already been dissected. These seven are the only whole specimens left from the storm that washed them down."

[Dave Syrinx]

Not being big on bugs, Fransesca says, "So, by removing the insects from the mountain you derived them of their feeding ground. Nice... What does this tell you? Leave the bugs where they live! Why are we here again? Let´s get the goods and be out of here! Is the professor on the team or not? Let´s head back at get that Carver dude. Then I´ll get your team to wherever you need to be!" Fransesca skips the beer and leaves for the chopper to run a check-up. Don´t want a mishap leaving this bug-pinning Schneider fellow. "Ladies, I´m preparing for take-off. Come when you´re ready..."

[Laraqua]

"We have several hours before our meeting with Carter," says Romaschkova, again looking askance at Fransesca's casual attitude. Again, Mikhalkova smiles. "Though less now, with the travel time."/color] Then she sighes as Morletti leaves and turns again to the Professor and began talking again in German.

As Fransesca leaves, her gaze passes over a number of items in the library but fastens on none of them. It is only the most obvious item in the library that she notices. There is a book sitting off to one side on a pulpit.

The symbol on the front cover makes her eyes itch as though overwhelmed by a sudden bout of hay fever and her breath catches in her throat. She has wave of vertigo that makes her feel as though she were falling towards the book. The feeling is so real she instinctively reaches out and grabs the edge of a nearby book case to steady herself.

[Dave Syrinx]

As she steadies herself she tries to read the title of the book or the books close to the one that draws her attention. There might be a clue about what it´s about, if they are categorized after topic...

When she´s read the title/s she pulls the book out and flips it open to ease her curiosity.