Flight & Flying [Friday, June 22, 2nd period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was waiting for the students on the top of the apartment building in town, leaning up against a Lambda-class Imperial shuttle.

"Welcome to the Virgo," he said with a small smile before giving them a quick rundown of the general specifications of the ship. "It's twenty meters long and is generally used to ferry soldiers or cargo back home," he said. "It's also equipped with a hyperdrive--which we will not be using--as well as two forward-facing double laser cannons, two wing-mounted double cannons, and a rear-facing double laser cannon." He met each student's eyes. "Which we will definitely not be using. We're going to do a quick swing around the system here--we won't go out as far as Pluto, but since it's not a planet any longer, I doubt it will be that offended."

He waved a hand towards the ramp. "Come aboard."

Comments

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"Mostly?" Inara took a deep breath and released it, then smiled back at him, "Thank you for this."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

For a moment, Anakin looked as young as he should. "What's the point of taking a class on flying if you don't get to experience what makes pilots so crazy about getting back into the air?" he asked, grinning. "Sims don't get this feeling."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Inara grinned, struck by how much he sounded like Gavin. "What am I looking for? Because right now, I'm not sure I'm seeing it."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

Anakin blinked at her. "Well, if you're not seeing it, I'm not sure you will," he said sadly. "It's not exactly a learned behavior. You've got to be born wanting to go as fast as possible with your hair on fire."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"That's...I'm not sure I want my hair to ignite," she admitted.

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"We're not going fast enough," Anakin assured her.

Best not to ask if his hair had ever been on fire.

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Inara pushed the acceleration just a bit, since she had no worries about hitting anything. "How fast would we need to go?"

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"To get closer to what I'm talking about?" Anakin grinned. "I can show you..."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"Okay." Inara wasn't ready to go fast while she was flying, but she didn't mind the idea in general.

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"Now, remember, my ship of choice is a starfighter. This shuttle's...bulky," Anakin said as his hands flew over the control system with the ease of long experience. "That being said--" he pushed the engines so that there was a noticable jump in velocity, "this is more my cruising speed."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Inara grinned widely as they flew much faster, feeling the velocity change, "See, I can see how this would be more fun."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

Anakin spun the shuttle through a series of maneuvers, eyes shining with glee. "Add this to an asteroid belt and you've got one of my favorite ways to relieve stress," Anakin said.

Anakin was a little strange.

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"Really? I find a candle and soft music works very well."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

Anakin snorted. "That's not exactly my style."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"What is it about flying like this that relaxes you?"

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"It's something I do instinctively," Anakin said. "My hands know where to go, so I don't have to overthink anything. I don't have to explain what I do, and it's just me against the elements of nature." He smiled. "It's what I was meant to do. I was told when I was very young that my last name was perfect for me because I walked the sky like I owned it. At the time, I didn't own anything. It kind of stuck with me--being a pilot was something that I could be proud of as an accomplishment."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"It's definitely something to be proud of," Inara decided, from her lofty position of being fifteen years old.

"I don't really have anything like that," she said wistfully, "Being a Companion trainee doesn't feel quite the way you're describing."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"You can take pride in doing a job and doing it well," Anakin told her. "The rest of it is out of your hands. I spent more than a decade chafing at being an apprentice, but learning how to do something is a journey in itself."

He made a face. "And somewhere along the way I swallowed a datacard of 'The Greatest Platitudes of Obi-Wan Kenobi.'"

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"Who is Obi-Wan Kenobi? Some kind of mystic?" Inara asked.

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"He was my teacher," Anakin said, a small smile turning his lips up. "And my best friend."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

She caught the was and didn't ask if he missed him--who wouldn't miss their best friend? "He sounds like a smart man."

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"He had his moments," Anakin agreed, eyes sparkling.

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Inara grinned and took a guess. "Did you disagree often?"

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[sith_happened]

"If we weren't fighting by noon it was because one of us was in the clinic or a prison," Anakin said fondly.

Re: Fly the shuttle: Empty space

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Laughing, Inara said, "I wish I had a friend like that. It sounds wonderful."