fandomhigh | Flight & Flying [Friday, May 18, 2nd period]

Anakin stood in front of the door of the ~~miraculously unscathed~~ flight shed and waited for the workshop students to arrive, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his dark robes.

"Welcome," he said, giving them a nod. "I'm Master Skywalker, and I'll be your instructor for flight this session. I'm from a space-based culture, so my expertise is primarily in those sorts of aircraft, but we'll also be working with the way people fly on this planet. We'll begin with simulators and if you convince me of your attention to detail and your ability not to die in stupid ways, you'll eventually be allowed to fly the real things." He pointed at Aeryn with a small smile. "This is Aeryn Sun, and she'll be the TA for this workshop. Listen to her instructions and recommendations just as carefully as you do mine--she's one hell of a pilot."

He waved a hand lazily at the doors and they slid open to reveal two podracing simulators sitting side-by-side.

"All right," he said, pointing at the controls, "everything you need to fly a podracer is located on the handlebars. You push them forward to go faster, pull back to slow down, and pull one or the other towards you to turn." He pointed at the buttons in the center of the console. "That controls the engines," he said. "You push the big button to light them up, and on these two models, you can push it again for an extra burst of speed." He looked at the class. "Which burns your fuel very, very quickly, so save that until you need it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Normally, these are attached to enormous engines--6 or 7 meter long engines--but these aren't real, and the simulator won't really give you the noise that's normally associated with the podracer. But the simulator has been programmed to go very, very quickly." He pointed to the simulator on the left-hand side. "This one, properly piloted, can get up to 950 kilometers an hour. The other can get up to 900. To fly a podracer at those kinds of speed requires iron nerves and split-second reflexes."

He clasped his hands in front of him. "Today you can take a turn learning how the simulators work, then pair up to fly against each other." He gave them a slightly predatory smile. "If you choose, you can fly against me. I built the real version of this podracer," he patted the left-hand simulator, "and used it to win a race when I was nine years old. And I won't give you a head start."

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"Just an elaborate video game. Right," Isabel nodded. "My friend back in Roswell would love this. It's much better then a Playstation."

Carefully she pushed the button to start the engines.

Anakin stepped back to watch how she did on her first try.

Isabel certainly wasn't going to break any speed records this time around. Moving slowly and a little shakily she tried to get accustomed to the controls. "I feel like the grey haired granny driving along."

"Give it a little more juice," Anakin said, "or the engine'll stall out and you'll crash anyway."

"And that would be bad." But she did as she was told and pushed forward on the controls. "So where is this course set? Somewhere you've been?"

"Welcome to Tatooine," Anakin said, barely repressing an eye roll. "This was the course I raced just before I got off that rock and headed to the Temple."

"Okay, you're all right. That is a lot of sand," Isabel agreed. Oddly enough talking helped her relax. A little. "Gavin's from Tatooine. I was telling him to go to beach and see the ocean."

There was some sort of obstacle coming up so Isabel adjusted the controls to go around it. Good thing she was strapped in. "Okay, they're sensitive."

Anakin glanced over. "Darklighter's from Tatooine, too?" he said, surprised. "We grow good pilots." He smiled. "Yeah, the controls are a little touchy. They're not meant for human reflexes."

"He is. He seems like a nice guy." She was a little more careful going around the next obstacle. They didn't jerk as much however they wound up being a little too close for Isabel's personal comfort. "And you really did all this when you were nine?"

Anakin nodded, then realized that wouldn't be very helpful for someone paying attention to flying. "Yes," he said aloud. "Winning the race meant that Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon could get the part they needed to leave the planet. And they'd take me with them."

"Good for you," Isabel said just as they entered the canyons. She didn't say anything after that, focusing on trying to survive. She didn't last long.

"Oops..."

Anakin smiled. "You're doing fine," he assured her. "Podracing's not for most people."

"I don't think I'll be taking a job at Southwest anytime soon. But it is kind of fun," she admitted. "I'm glad my random picking of workshops put me in here."

"Me too," Anakin said, giving her another smile.

"Okay, let's try this one more time." A bit more familiar with the controls, Isabel powered up again.

"Did you know I'm living with Luke?"

"I didn't," Anakin said. "How's he doing?"

"He's doing well," she smiled. "He'll be even better if Tori goes on another date with him."

Anakin shook his head. "I can't wrap my mind around that," he said. "He wasn't born yet before I got here."

"Is there anyway for you to get back there?" Isabel asked. "Or was it a one way trip?"

"One way trip," Anakin said quietly. "I'm here for the duration."

"I'm sorry. That has to be hard." She focused on the run, finding the controls a little easier to handle this time. "I know this is insanely Pollyana of me, but at least he's here now. It's better then being alone."

Anakin bit his lower lip and nodded, glancing over at Jaina. "And now I'm a grandfather, too. It's beyond strange."

"You might think about scorecards. Or illustrated family trees," Isabel suggested. "And if you're looking for father son bonding time, well, you could always give Luke The Talk." She was mostly kidding. Although if it did happen? She'd pay money to be a fly on the wall.

Anakin's eyes went wide. "You don't think someone's already covered that?" he stammered.

"I don't know. You should ask him," she said, trying not to laugh at the stammering. "I'll help him with some dating advice, but there are certain things I just can't cover."

Re: Individual flight

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