2018-01-18: The Dream of Flight

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  • Log: The Dream of Flight
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Maya Schrodinger, Emma Hetfield
  • Where: Wayside
  • Date: 18th January 2018
  • Summary: Riesenlied, Maya and Emma venture down to investigate the remains of the Astrid.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Wayside Village has been quite the centre of attention for a time, what with the constant strikes levelled against it. First a cthonic horror from the deep composed of the planet's lifeblood itself, then a giant dragon newly christened from an ancient Metal Demon artifact...

Well! What better way to stoke one's curiosity than to see it up close?

Riesenlied has reached out for Professor Emma, in part because she needs her help -- there is a skyship, or perhaps half a skyship, that needs repairs, and she can think of no one better than the woman Asteroid looks up and studies under.

The ground underneath Wayside has mercifully receded in the wake of the Primarch's grand flood. Such that there is only slick ice and frosted earth to surround the remnants of the great carrier, split in half and jutting out of the earth at an obtuse angle. The trio float down to the ship by way of... an adorable big gumdrop of a Dragon, 12 feet in diameter, going 'Muniii' all the way down...

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

Fact: Maya Schrodinger did once pledge to help Riesenlied, the Metal Demon with a heart yearning for peace, to punch war to death.

"Woah, you weren't joking about the scale of things." muses the blonde drifter, somehow secure in her footing aboard the dragon that ate the gum-gum fruit many years yonder. A hand frames her face to keep the wind from her eyes, and she is notably wearing a pith hat for no discernably good reason, especially since the rest of her outfit is the same as it usually is when conducting ruins-based business.

Fact: Maya Schrodinger has not been very good at helping out, and it's all K.K.'s fault. And for once, it actually is.

"Unbelievable, really. I go away for a few weeks to confess my love, and I find this waiting for me when I come back. But then, that's why you're the boss..." that carefree sentiment is punctuated with an actual bubblegum-bubble. Where does she keep getting these?

Fact: Maya Schrodinger is still not very good at helping out, but makes for good hired muscle.

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"I love everything about this," says Emma Hetfield, "now that a dragon monster isn't about to eat my buns up like it's the coffee hour."

Emma is riding happily on the Muni Express, and has been stroking and petting the dragon in its metamorphic side quite vigorously. She has even SCRITCHES. "Isn't that always the case? Things always come in clumps," she observes to Maya. "You have a boring stretch, then too much excitement... a punctuated equilibrium."

Emma adjusts her glasses. "I can tell you," Emma says as she gazes down, "that there are a couple of problems that I can see from up here. The big one is that the back half of the ship seems to be missing, perhaps destroyed. Honestly, that's also the little problem."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied herself doesn't look to be doing too well, so she keeps herself low and steady, less possessed of Graceful Cranes than Maya herself seems to be. Emma would find that Muni does in fact enjoy petting... and doubly enjoy scritching, such that the expression on her face just seems to bubble up from a :) to a :D to a XD! over time. Is there such a thing as a limit?

(No, there probably isn't.)

"Yes... it seems to have been torn asunder in its last battle," Riesenlied sighs as she draws closer, flagging a gesture towards a nearby guard to lower the barrier. Muni-Muni drops onto the deck gently. There is something approximating a bridge or a captain's quarters nearby, punched in from the front. Glass and dangerous pieces of debris is scattered all over.

"At the very least, the contamination the Primarch infested it with appears to be... gone?" Riesenlied guesses. "It's a start. Still, even with only half a ship, this can easily house the village..."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

Indeed, the Schrodinger girl either has no concept of safe conduct aboard their ride, or an absolute trust in the doofiest Dragon around to make up for any of her shortcomings. Or her ability to turn into a sorcerer and fly. That's probably part of it. She has both hands on her hips as she surveys the wreckage from the skies, dress all aflutter. Dramatic, except this isn't the time for dramatics.

"I'm trying to get ahold of some equipment so we can at least dredge up as much metal as we can to peice the outside back together..." Maya admits, with all the brusqueness one might use to describe an upcoming birthday party. "But all the delicate bits inside, well, that's even more out of my league... still! If anyone can figure it out~"

Sapphire gaze locks on Professor Emma Hetfield. What trust! What solidarity! What... passing the buck...

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"Hm-m-m-m," Emma muses.

"Hmmmmm," she says.

"Hmmm--!!!"

Then she looks to the Schrodinger woman as the dragon express descends. She meets Maya's eyes with the warm and solemn gaze of a much-older sister. "You're enthusiastic... and you've got the right attitude. You know," Emma says, looking down, "when I saw this before people were so negative about it! Honestly!"

Back to Riesenlied, she says, "What is your goal? Try to express it to me in the most concrete way you can. To give an example, I don't mean, 'to save your friends' - that goes without saying. I mean, for instance, 'to transport twenty people and house them comfortably for a week.'"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Ah-- the functional goal?" Riesenlied has to try to think of what to saying, humming for a moment...

... and then she has her answer, before too long. She starts to carefully step her way down closer towards the bridge, as she says, "In the short term, I expect to replace Wayside Village with this ship. It will likely be crowded, and may not be comfortable for all, but it must make do until we can find another safe site to replace the village. In the long term..."

She sighs very gently as she wraps her arms to her chest. "There are many more of my Tainted brethren back in Elru. I want to use this ship to facilitate transport for them, between the ghetto where we used to live and our safe space. Many of them are not as able or mobile as the villagers upstairs... it will be quite the task, and fraught with danger too."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

The grin on Maya's face, met by Emma's gaze as it is, is a little wry. Definitely a little devil-may-care, but there's nothing dangerous or uninformed about it. It's the look of one hungry for a challenge. If we had to place it somewhere on the scale, anyway.

"Ha~? Negative? Whether the glass is half-empty or half-full," she reaches out to the shape of the fallen ship's bridge with a gloved hand, clenching it into a fist. In her eyes, the prize disappears into her grasp. "It's still there for the taking. But I knew I could count on you to see it that way..."

Anyway, they all hop off of the fat blob, and Maya's dangerous-drifter look is wounded severely as she stops to rub and pat the rotund Muni^2, as a reward for a job well done.

She also sliiiides into the discussion, taking the lead from Riese for a moment. From serious-joking to serious-businesslike in a heartbeat. "So, more than just restoring what was there, we'll need to build all the amenities of a little city in here, won't we..."

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

Emma leaves Muni with a single promising caress, like a careless whisper that promises more to come, more sensual delights at the hands of her long slim f-

Anyway.

"I see," Emma says, gravely. Dsmounting, she steps nearer to the ship, looking upwards. "Hmmm-m-m. You're definitely ambitious. Have you been able to locate any other portions of the wreck? I'm asking because one solution would be..."

Emma raises a hand to point towards the heavens! (Caverns. Whatever. They both end in 'ns'.) "To build a [Neo Ark]!"

There is a visible pause.

Emma explains to Riesenlied. "A large mobile platform might be better constructed from the ground up, making use of the drive systems and components from this wreck. However, it seems like you might be in a hurry."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied peeks in from a corner frame to gasp and look up towards the same heavens that Emma points at! "A [Neo Ark]! Why I never thought of--"

Reality catches up to her.

"What's a [Neo Ark]?" asks Riesenlied innocently, despite her proficiency at adding invisible brackets, hyphens and other such important reader articles to her speech. Behind her, Muni-Muni has turned into a golden arch. No, Muni, I don't think that's quite it...

"Time is of the essence, yes. My brethren know where we are. In truth, if we can even achieve lift for a time, it may very well be the least measure of success I would take," Riesenlied epxresses softly...

She looks to Maya. "The villagers are quite creative, at the very least. I am sure they would come up with all kinds of solutions to increasing the ship's comforts. It is the first step that we lack the expertise and means to achieving..."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

Maya is peering skyward with a hand shielding her eye. After a few moments of staring up in the general direction, she slowly... looks back down and rubs the back of her neck. The terminology is lost on her. "No relation to the Ark Scepter, I take it..." it's a valiant attempt to try and put two and two together, but alas. Alas.

Gloved hands dust themselves off and return to the drifter's hips. So imperious! "Well. Ahem. The design's all yours, you two," the high-society musical lift has returned to Maya's voice as she shifts gears into discussing something she has a little more authority in. "But if you've an inkling of how long it might take, I might find a way to buy us just~ enough time to keep your old comrades from storming the place..."

Big talk. Which probably involves pleading with someone to actually make an illusion or build some gun turrets, or something.

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

Emma taps her lips with a finger.

"Yes... yes, I think I see how we could do this... hm hm~ Well, I don't know how comfy it will be, but I imagine people can live with being in close quarters for a while, yes? If they have to? Do you know if the power system is intact? That would save some space if we're refurbishing what's already there..."

Emma approaches the wreckage, searching for a door! Or some other access point not full of jagged rust shards. Looking to Maya, she says, "Oh really! Can you tell me who the retailer is? Just kidding, I know it's a figure of speech."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied places a hand to her cheek, replying, "We... have old records dating far back to the ship's original occupants -- and from their context, I don't believe the power source would be intact. They would have probably tried to escape otherwise. But I imagine a large number of the machinery is probably there and could be salvaged, and my mother has some similar blueprints from a similarly-modeled machine we found in Kislev."

There is a door not too far in! It isn't even horrible and mangled, giving them access to go downstairs. "I should also note that we have charted a means to leave through these caverns, if flight is not an option. If it could even just hover, it could act as a landship for a while..."

When the three descend, it's into a rather large mess of a cargo hull -- the remnants of a great and terrible battle have basically shredded and shorn apart most anything that would've been usable. A lot of cleanup is needed... but measuring the space, it certainly could hold a number of people.

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

From seemingly nowhere (fact: it is actually from nowhere)], Maya produces a small gas-lantern when nobody is looking and hefts it aloft as the Scooby-gang jimmy open the door to the ancient battleship and begin a harmless little expedition. Much less magical is the fact she lights it with a match. You can't win 'em all.

"A foolish figure of speech, at that, given I'd be buying the time from myself. With my own efforts. Really, how did such a phrase catch on?" the pith hat sli~ides backwards on Maya's head, not looking terribly effective even after she tugs it back into place. "Nevermind! Watch your step, no telling what might've turned this place into a home since the original owners ran out on it."

Gee Maya maybe you should have brought the crazy engineer kid or the very smart afro-man to think about the problem instead of your gunslinging self.

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"If you can salvage a Gear reactor, I imagine that's likely enough," Emma says as she steps inwards. "As long as you're not in a massive hurry. Two or three, even better - wow! Would you look at that!"

There is a moment as Emma thinks: What's with all the white streaks? And then: oh. right.

Adjusting her glasses, she says, "Thank you, Maya," to Mz. Schrodinger, and then folds her arms. "We definitely will need to get people in here. Given the scale of it I think you might be able to construct an actual framework to increase the effective space, but that might be a little more luxurious than you have time to commit to." Emma sweeps an arm, nearly passing over Riesenlied's head, to point back--!

"You'll need to armor that gigantic gaping hole of course, with an access hatchway. Do you expect aerial pursuit? Normally I'd say that's ridiculous, but with Filgaia the way it is these days, I half expect anything could happen. If nothing else you'll want something tough enough to fend off large, upset birds."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied clicks her fingers as she expresses to Emma, "There are spare Gears that we have been using to protect the town, back when we first fled with our lives from the warfront. So there are reactors present and ready, and kept in order as well."

She looks towards Maya with a softer smile, glad she's brought light so she doesn't have to utilise her own power... it still hurts all over. A little yelp, as Emma nearly bonks her on the head or the horn.

"... unfortunately, I think we must anticipate aerial enemies. My brethren will be sending Wyverns after us -- and unlike dear Muni-Muni upstairs, those will be Gear-sized Dragons breathing down our throats. They won't be easy targets to evade..."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

Maya is a spectacle-adjusting type, just not 95% of the time. It's complicated. Maybe she'll do a little megane-turn with her outfits one of these days? She keeps her distance from the animated Emma, and the wounded Riesenlied as they discuss the particulars. It's not like this place is cramped, anyway.

"Ah, normally I'd agree with the good doctor..." Maya chirps merrily, despite the grim matter at hand. She's also measuring the layer of dust on the wall by inspecting how much residue it leaves on a gloved finger. It's a lot. "But I think I saw some flying machines of some kind when Adlehyde fell--not all of which seemed like they came from Riesenlied's former side."

Maya, of course, refers to the bombers and such belonging to Solaris, which she has no idea about. "So we'll have Dragons, and mystery-machines to contend with... I doubt this poor thing can take much evasive action, maybe the best defense is a good offense?"

A pause.

"Heh heh, perhaps we could be all--Wave Motion Cannon, Fire!" this last point is punctutated with a Bright-esque sweep of the arm, causing the lantern to jiggle a little. Unfortunately, anime is real, and gives Maya power. It's a fact of life.

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"Mm," Emma says.

"Oh, sorry! - Hmmmmm. Let's seeeeeee," Emma says, looking up, craning her head around.

"Yes, I've heard about those... and they're not very exciting to hear about, given my own ambitions. But we don't know much about them. I know there are Gears capable of flight but I hadn't heard of many other such craft; it would make sense for a military unit to use an aerial craft, much as you are discussing doing, Riesenlied."

Emma considers. "Wave motion cannon... wave motion cannon..."

"Maybe in the second stage," she concludes. To Riesenlied, she asks, bold as brass, "Do you know how to fight these Wyverns?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There's certainly a lot of dust left upon the walls, as well as what seems to be mercurial blood, which doesn't properly dry through the ages. Many Demons' corpses probably could be found here, if they haven't been recycled and consumed into those Deep Soldiers that the Primarch fielded.

Riesenlied looks just a bit surprised as Emma boldly and directly asks her the question. "... to be honest, and I will be blunt in turn... the Guardians."

She bobs her head. "My kin find the Guardians' power anathema, and it is through the Guardians' power that we would find the best defence against them. I am not excluded from this."

She looks a bit embarrassed to say, "So-- so perhaps if Grudiev were firing the 'Wave Motion Cannon' from his mouth, yes..."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

Maya is still finishing her hand-clenching motion (for the second time) as Emma and Riesenlied do more constructive things, but at least they can probably agree there's a method behind her put-on madness. She turns around after a few more moments of posing, instead inspecting the quicksilver film upon her forefinger. Back to business. "That's risky, and hard to plan for, isn't it? If we could use that kind of power to do something to the ship, couldn't it hurt you by proximity?" two quick ones. The double.

"Besides, I don't have that kind of magic. The Guardians gave me one of those stone curios, but I don't think it'd be much of a weapon in my hands." and with that, she dutifully wipes her glove clean on a... dusty surface, but at least one free of Metal Blood. At least it sounds like Riesenlied has /some/ kind of rudimentary plan against Dragons, which is more than she has.

"What do you think about other threats, Professor? There must be something we can whip up."

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"I can certainly build some things to discourage attackers, though they won't be cheap," Emma says. "You could try to make it so that Gears could operate on the forecastle, or 'fo'c'sle' as a salty seaman would no doubt tell you."

She looks up to the roof. "But... hm... There's a lot of people out there with Mediums now. I have one myself. Perhaps you could hire a Drifter or two?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

It's about the right consistency and stickiness of blood, but... it doesn't quite dry the same way. Fascinating. Riesenlied bleeds red, doesn't she, by comparison? "... it might very well hurt us, but-- that may very well be what makes it truly effective. Conventional weapons would have an effect, of course, but my brethren tend to traditionally be steely and resilient. Magic would be a better recourse against them."

She does nod toward Emma and say, "Perhaps Josie could help..." as she muses to herself. "It's plenty to think about. I'd also like to think of ways to evade notice rather than fight... Captain Bart's sandcruiser had the ability to submerge."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

Thinking briefly about the crossed rubicon of train robbery that, thankfully, /real/ criminals took attention away from her on, Maya folds her arms again at the mention of cost. "I'm sure we can find the coin in an emergency, if it comes to making something expensive..." she positively rumbles the thought out. Except she doesn't have much of a rumbly voice, so, really now...

The lantern is handed to Emma, without much fanfare. "I'm going to have a look around while you two think. Maybe my luck will shine through and find us something nice?"

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"Certainly! Don't hesitate to scream for us if you find something horrible," Emma tells Maya, cheerfully. "And thank you for coming along!"

Back to Riesenlied. "Hmmm. I'd hate to try that with what we're going to be able to do here. Perhaps we can ask him nicely who his shipwright is? That seems like something you want to build around. The easy part's going down into the sand, you know. The hard part's coming back up."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"... I do not know him well enough to ask for such favours, I think... and I have a feeling the answer may be 'I discovered it'. But it would be useful to find out, I do agree," Riesenlied tilts her head. She looks towards Maya to say, "Ah, do be careful..." as she wanders off.

She looks back to Emma. "... thank you," she expresses earnestly. "Even after-- all the mistakes I have made..." She chews her lips. "I know it is not a personal favour, but I-- still deeply appreciate that you would come to look at this ship..."

She bows her head very gently.

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"Oh, Riesy riesy riesey," Emma says, bustling over. "Do you want to know my dark and secret reason why I'm so hype about this project, above and beyond helping you and your good smallfolk upstairs be able to beat cheeks when the heat comes down?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied tiiiilts her head, blinking her eyes so innocently as she laces her hands together. "U-um..." she leans back as Emma bustles over her! "What is it?"

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"I want," Emma says, "to fly."

"The flight through the skies of Filgaia is my dream. I want to achieve that dream... and I want to make it something that we make, us, with our own effort," Emma says, close enough that she grasps towards Riesenlied's hands. Too close?! "I know it's nitpicky of me, and I promise you that it isn't a prejudice, but we depend so much on the relics of the past. One day the last ruin will be dug out; one day the last Zeboim site will collapse or be destroyed; one day the last Gear, excavated and refurbished, will break down."

Emma does not know what a Solaris or a Shevat or a Veruni or whatever is.

"But the sky... if we could fly from place to place, boundaries would disappear. People wouldn't starve. I suppose the only problem would be storms and whirlwinds, and those are temporary. An ill child in the hinterlands could be taken to a doctor, or a doctor brought to them. People could send something more than memories and thoughts across the world. Perhaps we could deport those Lunarian people."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There is a quiet look from Riesenlied as Emma expresses her desire to fly. Not so coincidentally, her wings flicker up and down as she says that. She trembles just a little.

"... I..."

Her eyes tear up a little. "... once, I could fly freely through the skies. My wings were strong enough to carry me. When I encountered the Guardians... my body weakened -- to the point where they aren't able to sustain me... but as my muscles and health fail me--"

She sniffles just for a moment. "... that is what I desire, now that I am free. A bird who can spread their wings and fly... and one day-- that is exactly what I want to form."

She gestures to one side and says, "This hull... could be filled with relief and aid supplies. To reach remote regions of Filgaia that scarce receive aid due to how difficult they are to access. To provide rapid relief in the wake of disasters, whether it be food, water and medicine..."

She cups her hands to the Dragon's Tear. "That is the ideal I wish to ultimately achieve. To be a humanitarian organisation... without borders..."

A pause, as her horns go 'sproig'.

"E-eh? What was that about Lunarians??"

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"Did I say deport? I meant... help them go home! I think they came here accidentally, anyway," says Emma "by my own intelligence, I am euphoric" Hetfield.

"Do you want a hug? Would a hug be impolite?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied turns just a little bit redder. "W-well, I would not say no, but--"

She glances around to make sure Maya isn't anywhere around... though she probably wouldn't mind... b-but Emma seems so-- worldly in turn! Like someone she can look up to.

"C-can I have a..."

Her eyes flick up a little to the green-haired scientist. Her horns are flailing in embarrassment.

"Can I have a headpat instead...?"

<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.

"... Well, of course! Just... guide me here, tell me if I'm doing it right," Emma says, as she reaches forwards to, gamely, attempt to pat Riesenlied's head.

I sure didn't expect to be doing this with my life, Emma thinks. She has enough wisdom, hard-earned, to not say this sort of thing aloud.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

And that was how Emma headpatted a Metal Demon whose horns wiggle up and down like dog ears when she gets pat...

Maybe 'puppy-shaped' was not such an incorrect term after all.

<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.

Before the curtains can draw, Maya Schrodinger appears from above as if she had been lurking there the entire time, so she too can pat Riese on the head.