fandomhigh | Flight and Flying (Friday, July 14, morning)

Anakin stood in front of the Flight Club shed with his hands hidden in the folds of his robe, looking every inch the confident Jedi. He didn't realize that he was imitating Obi-Wan's way of standing.

He gave a short nod to the class as they assembled in front of him. "Welcome," he said. "My name is Anakin Skywalker, but most of you know that. You can call me Anakin or Master Skywalker--I don't really care." Secretly he was hoping someone would call him Master Skywalker, but he wasn't going to mention that. He looked at the students and continued. "Today, we're going to fly podracers." He cleared his throat and opened the door. "Well, in a simulator, anyway." He gave Peter a small smile. "The last one I built was made for, um, much smaller people."

Inside the shed were two 6 foot-long simulators sitting side by side. Anakin walked over to one with evident pride. "Okay," he said, pointing at the controls, "everything you need to fly a podracer is located on its 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 things are attached to giant engines--like 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. "Okay. 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. "Since there are nine of you, the person without a partner will get to 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."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"No actual fatalities," Anakin said, shrugging. "You brought me something?"

Rory handed him one of the iced coffees. "Iced cappuccino, 'cause it's way too hot for the real thing, and...." She opened up the bag and handed him a chocolate croissant. "I felt it was only appropriate. And I'm pretty sure real Parisians don't eat chocolate croissants that look like this."

Anakin smiled and took a bite. "Thank you," he said. "I won't even throw this one."

"Good, because that would make me sad," she said, adjusting her beret and taking out her own croissant. "So no one died? Always a plus. I bet no one's flown as awesomely as I did."

"No one has had your unique touch, no," Anakin admitted. He grinned. "I'd never known you could fly a podracer that slowly."

Rory pouted at him. "I'm cautious."

"I know," Anakin replied, taking a sip from his iced coffee. "And it wasn't like you were ever planning on winning the Boonta Eve Classic anyway."

"We have a saying about slow and steady winning the race, anyway. So you might be surprised," she said.

"That is a very stupid saying," Anakin decided.

Rory frowned. "Nuh uh, it's based on a fable and it's a good saying!"

"You can't win the race if you're slow," Anakin said, frowning. "How did the fable make it work?"

"There was a tortoise and a hare - um...a turtle and a bunny - and they were racing, and the bunny got all cocky and was way ahead of the turtle, so he decided to take a nap. And the turtle had been going his same, slow, steady pace the whole time, and he won," Rory said. "See, it means that if you're consistent and careful, you'll beat the people who go too fast and get all overconfident."

"No it doesn't," Anakin said. "It means that you can catch up to the beings who lose focus. The bunny should've finished what he was doing, then taken the nap. He deserved to lose."

"Fair point, but the point remains that being slow and cautious and doing things right the first time isn't bad," Rory told him, tearing off a bit of her croissant.

"But if you can do them right the first time and be faster, that's not bad either," Anakin countered.

"Yes, but how many people can do it perfectly and be rushed? Most people can't," Rory pointed out.

"I can," Anakin replied with a cocky smile.

"You're special," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I've been told that," Anakin replied. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I'm taking Marty and Angela to see Mom and Bucky, and then probably going to the picnic. What about you?" Rory asked.

"I was heading back to the cabin to get in some meditation, but I like picnics," he said. "I might stop by a little later."

He smiled. "Tell your mom and Bucky hello for me?"

"I will," Rory promised. "Want to wear my beret?"

"Not even a little bit," Anakin replied. He smiled. "Thanks for the snack."

"You're welcome," Rory said. "I should go track down Angela and Marty. See you later?"

"See you later," Anakin replied with a soft smile. "Have fun."

Re: Talk to Anakin

auroryborealis.livejournal.com - 2006-07-14 21:15 (UTC) - Expand