You have been asked to join this test flight

An Airbus A380-800 out of a heavy check in Sydney, positioning to New York empty. Two pilots, one cabin service director, three engineers, and you: Second Officer Reyes, seat 02A on the boarding pass, asleep in bunk 4.

At 1704 Zulu, five hours out over the Coral Sea, a maintenance routine called Ferry Test Profile 4C begins running itself through the aircraft, one system at a time. It has locked the crew rest door, dropped the galley lift, and pumped 6 400 kg of fuel into the tail. Step 8 isolates the fuel system permanently.