kalenath Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 "A ride...?" Nine looked at the young woman and nodded. "I think we might be able to do one better, don't you all?" She asked the pilots around her and they all smiled. She waved for Val to follow her. When Val had come around the other side of the lockers, Nine held up a hand and looked her over, closely. Then the Cathar woman smiled and opened a locker. She held a small device up for Val to see. "This will get your measurements fast. Wouldn't want your flightsuit to fit badly..." She played a small light beam over Val and then smiled as she saw the readings. "Wonder of wonders, we have one that will fit." She put the device away, opened another locker, took out a bundle and tossed it to Val. While Val changed, Nine spoke quietly. "Will told me what he promised you. He left me a vidmail before he left. He keeps his promises." In just a few minutes, Val was suited up and Nine smiled. Then the pilot handed her a helmet. "Put that on and come on." Nine led Val out onto the flightline, careful where she led the inexperienced being. They stopped beside a fighter that wasn't an Aurek. "Will said he promised you a ride in a Aurek mark seven, but all of our trainers are either out or down for repairs, so... This is the bird you helped fix, mine. This is a Chela mark three. It has a back seat with backup controls as well as the rear guns. Doc says you are clear to fly, so..." She pointed towards the front seat. Once Val was strapped in, Nine sat in her seat and double checked her equipment. When Val looked at her Nine snarled. "What are you waiting for? Take us out of here. For the next fifteen minutes the launch and recovery bays are idle, all the birds that are up are out of the way, so lets go already. Your bird, pilot, I'm just here for the ride. And to make sure you don't kill yourself." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalenath Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Her fly... was she serious? Was she dreaming?! Val was frozen for a second, completely frozen. Hearing the Cathar's last words though she snapped out of it. All her reservations vanished, this was her chance to fly and by the force she was going to take advantage of every second she could! As she flipped through the controls methodically the Chela's engines hummed to life. The thought of being able to make them roar sent chills down her spine and the excitement was enough to cause her hands to start shaking uncontrollably. The second her fingers touched the steering column though the quivering was gone. The fighter lifted out of the hangar bay and entered the blackness beyond... it was nothing like the sim. No sim could recreate this, sure it could approximate the behavior of a vessel with algorithms and models but it couldn't recreate the feeling of having the real thing under one's fingertips... it was incredible. Now to have some real fun. According to the adjustments she made to the engine... Val throttled the fighter up and pressing a series of buttons on the dash one could hear the engines building up... one, two... now. Val hit the accelerator and the Chela roared forward with blazing speed, she didn't even need to hit the boosters. A smirk crept over her face as she banked the fighter hard right and then left testing the handling. Good, good, everything was working perfectly... she had a grasp of the limits, now to push them. The ship whooshed by flipping, rolling, diving, breaking hard then accelerating like mad... despite it all though Val knew the ship's limits and she didn't dare cross them. She preferred to not have to fix anything else although with each turn and each spin she couldn't help but think of improvements that could be made.... if small boosters were added there the turning capability would increase 30%... if the engines were placed closer to the center of mass of the ship it would gain stability in atmospheric flight, if the flaps were lowered.... She stopped pushing the thoughts away for now and just grinned enjoying her joy ride through the stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalenath Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Nine sat in the back seat and smiled under her helmet. Will had been right, this girl was no hothouse flower, she was a hawk. And she had come to the right place. A crew of outcasts, misfits, loners and downright crazies. She would fit in just fine. Olana stood in an observation bubble with Jikirt and they both watched as Val put the speedy little ship through its paces. They shared a smile and watched in silence as the girl finally could see, feel and taste her freedom from her past, and observe the vistas of her future open up. ((Well, val has found a new home, and the Stormhawk has a new crew member. And a warning to all the bad guys out there who might think Val is an easy target... Cross that bunny at your peril... )) ((Comments or suggestions always appreciated. Flames might get the bunny mad. Do we want that? Really?)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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