Esmer shuttle

Esmer shuttle in-flight through space.

Description

The esmer shuttle is a flying ship used for transportations of persons and goods. It's most remarkable for being able to make inter-planetary flights, but can also be used for flights within the atmosphere of a planet.

This shuttle was developed by and is most frequently used by esmers, particularly the sups. It was first spotted on Twinsun not long before the Esmer invasion.

There is just one standardized model of the shuttle, allowing the use of efficient space ports, standard sized landing pads, and it eases maintenance and production. The Emperor of Zeelich had his personal shuttle customized slightly.

The esmer shuttle is the only known means of transportation between Zeelich, Twinsun and the Emerald Moon next to Baldino's Spaceship, which was revealed only after the Esmers landed on Twinsun.

Exteriour

Esmer shuttle exteriour as seen from the side.

The shuttle is shaped much like a saucer. The top of the shuttle's body with the cockpit is yellow while the bottom is coloured red. The shuttle has several flexible feet that allow for comfortable landings, but are contracted during flight. The exhaust pipe for the engine can be seen at the back of the shuttle. Around the body are three stabilatory wings, mostly useful for flying within a planet's atmosphere.

There is one door in the shuttle that is lowered after landing, doubling as stairs to get inside or out. The cargo hold also has a door located at the bottom of the shuttle, but this is hardly used, mostly for dropping large objects in-flight. A pair of mechanical arms can be used to lower and release the specific cargo.

Esmer shuttle interiour, showing the shuttle's controls and cargo bay.

Interiour

Getting inside the shuttle, the passenger finds himself in the cargo hold. This is well reachable so loading and unloading is easy. It's mostly empty apart for a storage room for space suits which can be found in all shuttles.

At the top of the shuttle, reachable by a ladder, is the passenger's lounge and shuttle controls.

Controls

The shuttle is usually not manually controlled, but rather flies on auto-pilot using the Itinary Token. This token has to be retrieved from the respective control tower before take-off and has the flight pattern programmed in it. The passenger simply has to insert it into the designated slot in the shuttle's cockpit to start the flight, after which he may sit back comfortably.

The Emperor's shuttle

The Emperor's shuttle seen from the outside, parked right across the Emperor's palace. The emperor's emblem is visible here.

The Emperor of Zeelich had a customized version of the esmer shuttle. It is basically the same as any other, but it's slightly more luxurious and it carries the emperor's emblem on the front exteriour.

Role in Twinsen's adventures

The esmer shuttles had a big role in Twinsen's second adventure. Not only did he travel in them himself, but the esmers also used them for various tasks during significant parts toruhgout the adventure.

Twinsen first encountered the esmer shuttle among with many other Twinsunians, when Johnny Rocket's shuttle landed on Citadel Island and others on Desert Island. During his journeys, Twinsen traveled in a shuttle several times:

1. When traveling to Otringal, Zeelich while disguised as a Twinsunian wizard;
2. When escaping the prison there and returning to Twinsen, this time he crashed his shuttle in the Flower Circle on the Citadel Island cliffs;
3. When traveling to the moon base on Emerald Moon, departing from the secret esmers base on Desert Island;
4. Using the Emperor's shuttle, to get from Island CX
to upper-town Otringal, right outside the Emperor's palace.

The bomb held by mechanical arms, right before dropping it into the moon base's reactor.

A very significant event involving the esmers shuttle was when the esmers realized their mistake of blindly following their Emperor and the falsified Dark Monk. They dropped a bomb carried by a shuttle into the moon base, stopping it from hurling towards Twinsun in combination with Sendell's powers channeled through Twinsen at that time. This was the only time when the shuttles were used for anything different than transporting people and goods.