Setting, map (National Geo, 50 years of exploration)

Setting map: 50 years of exploration, National Geographic
Repo gets to strech

“Repo haul your ass up here, we’re coming up on the system” The captain’s voice yanked Repo out of nice sort of a dream, bugger all, he banged a weathered hand along the wall in search of the com button. “yeha’ I’ll be up in bit gov.”
“Now Repo, if you don’t want Marlin to come give you a wakeup call.” Repo let out a string of choice cuss words at the dark com panel and one to the empty birth. He had two hours sleep, having spent the night chasing a gremlin in the ‘rubber system. He looked out his solitary window, darkness. He sat on the edge of his bunk and tugged on his boots. He stood and unsteadily trundled to the head, the light flicked on overhead then flickered off again. “Corse, why not bugger all.” He reached for a bottle in the dark.
“Repo, fer Buddha’s sake get your sorry self up here, don’t even think of touching that stuff till’ this is over.” He paused for a moment, took a swig and banged the dirty bottle back down on the dark shelf. “Alright Repo ol’ boy here comes one more day.” He tugged his overalls up and banged his way to the door. One big heave and it slid reluctantly into the wall. The engine room hummed and clicked reassuringly the fusion dancing purple shadows along the wall. It was calm and mechanical, Repo gave it a pat as he walked past, one day at a time girl, one day at a time.”
“Took your bloody time getting up here eh?”
“You know I cou’ shut the air to your cabin ‘n nobody woul’ hear you scream, eh?”
“Good luck with Marlin.”
“Yar, she’d be more trouble then you I recon. Fine, you can live another night—Fixed tha’ bug in th’ ‘rubber ba’ we gonna need more black soon.” Repo set about warming up the console, pleading with the old girl for another landing. There was a solid clunk from deep in the bowls and all the gauges in the cockpit came on line the golden glow of their illuminators slowly built as they warmed up.
“How much longer have we got with the carbon we have?”
“Couple a’ weeks I suppose but that’s pushin’ it.” Repo plunked down behind the main console. “Right Jones-y were good ta’ go.”
The captain gazed off to the nonextant horizon before heaving a sigh and pulling out the yolk. “Just one more night?”
“We’ll see how ya do, maby I’ll ge’ lucky and Marlin will ge’ herself dead first.”
“You’ll never be that lucky junk man, how’s it looking captain ?”
“Just fine Marlin, you’re sure your contact hasn’t been pinched by the law?” She wasn’t one that took well to people doubting her.
“Go ahead Repo, shut off his air, I’ll double your wage.” Repo stopped what he as doing and thought for a moment.
“I’ll let ya know ta’marrow I’already promised ‘m a nother night.” He gave a largely toothless grin at the Captain, “good thing I already promised eh?” Repo chuckled to himself and clicked on the localizer. The star field slowly rotated clockwise and then started to drift to the right.
“Ahhh woul’ ya look at that she’s a bute.” A planet had just crept into view soft blue looming like a bobble hung from an invisible thread. “Ne- Ne-, Nep-tu-ne, Neptu-ne! sight for sore eyes that.”
“Neptune, it’s the outer planet in this system, we should be able to see Saturn soon.”
“How ya’ bout this system Marlin, taint nothing but a smudge of a place far out in the ink?”
“This is Sol you idiot, don’t you remember your origins? ‘And form the planet blue neath the warmth of Sol set forth Buddha on his voyage of a thousand years spreading enlightenment to the stars’ It’s the fourth line in the blasted book.”
Repo looked put-down, “Course I know the book, I just dint’ take the time to memorize all the flippin’ planets.” Repo looked longingly at the planet as it sailed past the ship. “Good to see an orb again ant it?”
“Sure is Repo, which one we aiming for Marlin?”
“Third one out from its sun, they think that was the one.”
“Yeah but its not like any uh them dandies are gonna risk gettin though the outer rings to look fer it, jus people like us gonna see it, ant it?” Repo was nearly salivating at the prospect of getting out of the can, tasting the fresh air of the suit, standing with his arms stretched in the air, heck he may even jump if the gravities got enough pull. He spun a large knurled dial in the center of the console as they slid out from behind a gas giant. “You ready boss? We’re bout to…” they had peeked out from behind the giant and there was a torrent of light. Repo shut his eyes and sighed a big sopping sigh, “…oh that’s a good feeling, here we go.” He slid a big worn lever backwards slowly the ship groaned a popped under stress. “you got this ol girl, tant nothing ‘tall, we’re coming up on it now, eh we should slow for we get to tha’ star.”
Repo pulled the lever all the way back and there was a dreadful screech from the hull and a piece of something distinctly metallic shot forward off the ship into the ink. “Ahhh, twernt nothing but a bit o’ extra hull plaiting, Holy flyin’ buttresses” A planet had just come into view, like nothing any of them had ever seen. Marlin drew a shapr breather and held it rocking back and forth on her feet.
“Wow well that’s something you don’t see every day, click me in there Repo.” Repo blindly poked at a button in the console the planet filled the whole view. “lordy I think I’m gonna start blitherin here in a sec, gor ant that jus the pirddyest thing, watch out capin’ comp says the atmosphere is real thick, you got the right coordinates fer landing?”
“Hold on to something folks this is going to be a bumby one, the captin was addressing the rest of the ship over the comm, you two better strap in.”
Repo gave the ship a reassuring pat as the front screen filled with fire. “ooo lordy lil pup you got this jus fine, alright capin, here go the lil brakes.” There was a mighty bang as the foils deployed and the ship dropped into supersonic flight. “We near gov?”
“Alright pull the big ones.”
“Aye, hol’ on.” Repo pulled on the big knob red knob above his chair and the ship shuddered the ship retracted the steller engines and deployed the atmos pushers. “What ya think that stuffs made outa? Methane? Kinda looks like ammonia maby? Either way it sure is perdy.” A coast loomed quickly, “boy it’s a strange thing to be going quickly at subsonic speeds ya know, it always feels faster than when were steller, eh captain?”
“Not now Repo, can you slow us more?” The captain was sweating under the strain of flying sub-sonic, the auto pilot only worked when the stellers were out.
“Sure thing there boss, sweet habeba look at that print out, there right there do you see what it says.” Repo was smiling at Marlin, not a thing she was used to. She leaned over cautiously to look at the screen, “Mother!”
“What are you two yammering on about.” The captain set the ship down with a surprising grace on top of a cliff.
“The uh, look at the screen under atmos.” The captain un hooked and peered over Repo’s shoulder. “Holy Buddha, its air.”