Flight & Flying [Tuesday, May 19, 4th period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was almost smiling today as the class met in the Danger Shop. Creepy.

"Today we're going to continue with land-based transportation," he said quietly, pointing to two motorcycle-esque machines hovering on either side him. "This is a swoop bike," he said, pointing to one, "and the one on the left is a speeder bike, the slightly newer model, which is also equipped with a laser cannon. Don't use the laser cannon, please. Both fly like the motorcycles of your world drive, but can get up to 400 kilometers an hour. That being said, you will be wearing helmets and there are two different scenarios based on your level of skill. One is a city planet with very tall buildings to miss. The second is a forest moon with trees hundreds of meters tall."

He gave the class a tight smile. "Please don't hit a tree or a building and explode. There will be mocking. If you do it intentionally, there will be detention."

He clapped his hands. "Begin."

Comments

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[bitten_notshy]

"You're ahead of me if you've driven one before," Jack said, as he climbed onto one of the bikes. "I'm from about a hundred years ago. We don't have things like this at home."

He flashed a smile. "I'm Jack, by the way."

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[weetuskenraider]

"Tahiri," she replied with an answering smile. "Only a hundred years ago, and you don't have anything like this, really? Zayne --" she pointed out one of the other students dressed in Jedi robes -- "is from about four thousand years before me, and he's a huge swoop fanatic. And I've ridden these before, but I've never actually been driving."

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[bitten_notshy]

Jack shook his head slightly. "I think the woman who wrote my canon picked what technologies it would have based on how shiny she thought they are."

"We have bicycles," he said, as he leaned experimentally on the handlebars and fumbled for the ignition. "But that's very different. You've had this kind of technology for 4,000 years, really? I've never heard of a culture like that."

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri smiled and swung astride her bike -- she wished she made it look easy, but that was hard when your legs were so short that there was some flailing. "I know they don't look like it, but they're pretty sturdy. And apparently our galaxy is weird that way."

She called so very many things weird, really.

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[bitten_notshy]

Jack had perhaps six inches on Tahiri; he was slightly more elegant than her in getting on his bike, but they were still made for someone taller yet.

"No, I can believe it's sturdy," he said, as his hands came to rest on the handlebars. "I can't believe no one knocks it over when we swerve around the buildings, but I suppose that's why we do this in a -- what is this called? A simulator."

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[weetuskenraider]

"Oh, you can, if you're not careful, but I think there are systems built in to help compensate for these things. Machines aren't really my strong point --" an understatement, especially given that the more she thought about them the more Riina got cranky -- "so if you want a more detailed explanation than that you'd have to ask Master Skywalker, or . . . you know, ask Zayne, at least about the swoop. He loves an excuse to talk about them."

Tahiri took a moment or two to get a sense of the controls, then wrapped her fingers around the handlebar grips. "Ready, or do you need a minute?"

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[bitten_notshy]

"I'm no engineer either, so your explanation will suffice for now," Jack assured her. He shifted into a more comfortable stance and wrapped his fingers around the ignition. "I can ask Zayne later if I run into him. And I think I'm ready if you are.

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[weetuskenraider]

"Guess we'll find out," Tahiri said, and the grin that spread across her face was a mildly toned down version of the one she'd sported last week during the podracing simulation. "Three, two, one . . . go!" She even gave him a second's head start to compensate for her own reflexes. She was nice like that.

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[bitten_notshy]

Jack appreciated the consideration as the swoop bike sputtered to life between his legs. It was utterly different from riding a horse, that was as much as he had time to think before his reflexes kicked in and he had to swerve, turn, don't smash into a wall or you'll be laughed at ... and then there was what seemed to be a stop sign.

He tilted to the side as he found the breaks. "This is like a city."

Brilliant observation, Jack.

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri couldn't laugh at him, not considering her own reaction to Coruscant the first time she'd seen it, or the trip to the . . . fragrant industrialized surface of Eriadu, when her previous concept of a city had been Mos Eisley.

"If we're where I think we are, the entire planet's like this," she yelled, laughing as she came to a much more abrupt stop, and would have gone flying over the handlebars if not for Jedi reflex. "Whoa!"

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[bitten_notshy]

Jack laughed at her, flashing neat white teeth. "Are you sure you won't be the one to fall off?" he queried. "I can't imagine a city as large as a planet. I've never seen one larger than London."

Which wasn't exactly tiny, but it was still dwarfed by Corsucant.

The traffic started to move again, and he was off without waiting for an answer.

Re: Fly in the city [Beginner]

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri snickered and shot after him, climbing sharply to get over a slow, clunky old airspeeder that cut her off then dropping in beside Jack again. "I'm not guaranteeing that," she yelled.