sith_happened: (Anakin: total badass)
Anakin Skywalker ([personal profile] sith_happened) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2009-05-12 12:02 am
Entry tags:

Flight and Flying [Tuesday, May 12, 4th period]

Anakin stood in front of the door of the 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. Before we begin in the simulator, though, you need to recite the following pledge: I solemnly swear, upon threat of detention and possible bodily harm, to listen and follow Master Skywalker's instructions, not to bring food or drink within ten feet of the simulators, and to absolutely never start a fight anywhere inside the flight shed, as Master Skywalker will let my head get cracked open on something metallic, like I deserve, and then throw me into detention for the entirety of my time at Fandom High."

He was dead serious, too.

After the pledges had been recited to his satisfaction, Anakin 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."
weetuskenraider: (Look I Know How to Smile)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, she was totally crazy enough to want to try this. She blamed the craziness on actually making it through the second run.
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 02:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben slid into the other podracer and gave her a challenging smile. "Want to go?"
weetuskenraider: (Laughing ZOMGwut?)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm not betting on the winner," Tahiri said instantly, but matched his grin. Part of her couldn't help wanting to show off in front of some of the other kids.
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
That wasn't entirely out of his thoughts either as the simulation fired up and began counting down from three. Ben's hands gripped the handlebars as his heart began to race.

He didn't touch the ignition button just yet, though. He didn't want to flood the engines.
weetuskenraider: (Looking Over Shoulder)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 04:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Tahiri's finger was hovering over the ignition button and her eyes were wide, her gaze alternating between the countdown and the course in front of her. She was pretty sure she was going to lose anyway, but not without giving the rest of the class the best show she could.

2, 1 . . .
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben hit the ignition at the exact moment the chime sounded and tore down the track, cutting the first turn with inches to spare and going at least 800 kilometers an hour.

Skywalker.
weetuskenraider: (But.  Um.)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Showoff," Tahiri yelled, doing her best to close the gap between them. She throttled up to about 800 km/h herself, but more cautiously, so she cleared the first turn with a meter or so to spare. That meant she had to kick in a little more speed to make up for it if she wanted to have a shot at keeping pace with . . . well, with the back of Ben's podracer, of course.

Upside to this? At this insane speed, when she forgot this was only a sim, she didn't have a choice but to start really learning how to use her Jedi abilities to her advantage.
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"Catch up, then!" Ben yelled back, throttling down just a little. He'd remembered ending up a nasty canyon smear on the turn that was coming up and that was no way to impress his girlfriend.
weetuskenraider: (Slight Smirk)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm working on it!" Tahiri reached out in the Force and sensed him slowing down -- oh, right, that turn. She kept her own speed steady, but paid extra attention to the turn coming up. She wasn't going to pass him yet, but she did manage to keep the turn tight enough to gain maybe a second on him.
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 05:12 pm (UTC)(link)
And even a little bit of a gain in time was crucial in podracing. Ben ducked down as they reached a clear area and they got peppered by blaster fire, but he increased his speed again, trying to regain his lead.
weetuskenraider: (Concentrating (Use the Force))

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 05:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Tahiri barked a warning (for all the good it would do) to the Tusken snipers on the canyon walls that amounted to "Quit shooting at him, I like him in one piece!"

They'd hit a straightaway stretch, though she knew from her second run it wouldn't last long, and while it lasted she maneuvered directly behind Ben and kicked in an extra burst of speed, hoping to gain another fraction of a second or so.
momslilassassin: (Ben: bw scruffy)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben gritted his teeth as she moved along beside him, then sent her a little mental apology and shimmied his podracer into hers.
weetuskenraider: (Worky-Outy)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Tahiri grinned fiercely, returning the nudge -- and sending a distinct wave of amusement at his apology.

"Ben Skywalker, are you trying to impress me or something?"
momslilassassin: (Ben: aren't I cute?)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 05:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Is it working?" Ben asked, yanking on the controls to smack her again.
weetuskenraider: (ZOMGwut Surprise)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 05:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"Is it -- whoa!" Tahiri tried to dodge, but got clipped anyway and swerved badly for a second before she got her podracer back under control. She didn't mean to bump him again that time. "Necessary?"
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben grinned at her before trying to swing his podracer in front of hers. The canyon walls were coming together rather quickly--there wasn't going to be space for the two of them to be beside each other.

"Always."
weetuskenraider: (Happy and Relaxed)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
There wasn't, and Tahiri punched the ignition button again as she tried to gain some altitude on him.

"That's dumb, Ben. You don't have to try," she yelled.
momslilassassin: (Ben: eye closeup)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben was concentrating on the hole in the canyon wall. He would gain a couple of meters on Tahiri, but only if he didn't hit the sides.

There was a good, oh, foot to spare. Sane people wouldn't try this.

"Of course I do," he yelled back.
weetuskenraider: (But.  Um.)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm with you, dummy," Tahiri yelled back, and she might be insane in other ways but she wasn't trying that, thanks, so she climbed a little more, dodged a burst of fire from another Tusken sniper, and opened the throttle a little more. "Don't you think that means you've impressed me enough?"
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben held in his breath as he passed through the hole in the rock--like that would make his podracer skinnier or something--and then yelled back, "Gotta keep you on your toes."

His heart was pounding. He could definitely see the appeal of this kind of racing.
weetuskenraider: (Orly?)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] weetuskenraider 2009-05-12 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Tahiri laughed and then yelped when, trying to make a turn as tightly as possible to compensate for his sneaky little maneuver there, her podracer barely grazed the rock face; at this speed, the tiniest bit of contact was jarring.

. . . but this was fun, she realized. She fought the podracer back into control, feeling more confident about it now, enough so to push the speed up to just under 900 kilometers an hour and go after Ben once she was clear of the turn.

"You always do, Skywalker!"
momslilassassin: (Ben: grin)

Re: Fly against each other

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2009-05-12 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben had already pushed his throttle as far as it would go (Skywalkers having a Thing about speed), and was grinning and glad that the realism of the program didn't extend to bugs in his teeth.

"Catch up!"

Re: Fly against each other

[identity profile] death-of-hope.livejournal.com 2009-05-12 03:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Anemone slid into the seat again, looking over to see who'd fly against her. This could be fun!

Re: Fly against each other

[identity profile] asgardcreated.livejournal.com 2009-05-12 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Like Jon would pass up the chance to race against someone. He was practically bouncing in the seat.