milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

sam wilson,
x-23

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It's always a good idea to test out new gear before any sort of mission. And so when Sam got Jay's not that the new wings were ready for testing, Sam immediately went looking for them. He didn't find Jay, but he did find the wings and since Jay did say they were ready...

Outside, he's flying low, testing the lift and feel of them from an altitude he can somewhat safely fall from.

He'll test out the dummy micro-missiles and other offensive capabilities once he's sure of the flying.

[OOC: Open to all, but I will be hitting slows in a few hours, and will be back tomorrow afternoon.]

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Dejah's been working in the forge for a few hours and she needs some air. Maybe something to drink. When she steps outside, she sees a shadow pass overhead, and her first instinct is to reach for a weapon.

That doesn't mean she's not watching in abject wonder.

Sam's focused on the performance of the wings at this point and so misses his audience. So far the wings are performing wonderfully and so he decides to push it, angling into a steep climb.

That. Is a person. In a flying suit.

Dejah's eyes go wide as she watches him try to achieve escape velocity. Does that thing even have life support?

Sam keeps going up, impressed with the lift Jay has managed. Then he notices the blue ahead start to darken and remembers he not on Earth and the atmosphere might not be as robust as he's used to.

He levels out and goes into a lazy spiral to reduce altitude. It's at one of the lower arcs that he notices his audience and waves.

She's shaking her head, laughing under her breath. She raises a hand and gives a lazy wave back. It's Sam, the man who tempted Woola with Girl Scout cookies.

She had no idea he was a -- what do you even call someone who wears their flyer instead of riding it?

Torn between the sky and Dejah, Sam spends a few more minutes reaching a decision, finally deciding he's flown enough for now. He dives down at the next arc that nears her and leans back to have the rockets slow his momentum enough that he can make a running landing.

"Afternoon," he says with a grin as the wings collapse and fold into the pack.

"Hello again." Dejah's wide-eyed expression hasn't waned. She approaches him like any engineer, circling around trying to get a good look at the pack before the goods disappear entirely.

"I don't recall you mentioning that you were -- what do you even call this thing? Wing suit? Rocket assisted, I saw. What kind of redundancies are built into it? This is amazing."

"Wing suit works. The original suit was designed to allow the wearer to get where planes or parachutes couldn't get. I used to work with pararescue in the Air Force. I would fly in to rescue soldiers or pilots who were shot down behind enemy lines and get them back to safety."

"These suits were amazing for the job. My old set got destroyed and this set was build by a guy here named Jay. He has a workshop in the garage."

"Jay. Yes, I believe I met him briefly when I was prototyping Shephard's ground transport. This is simply -- do you think you could get me a copy of the specs? I just want to see how he managed this complete de-articulation."

She's talking about how the wings fold up into the pack.

"I'd be happy to share the specs for the original suit, but I feel like I should ask him before I go handing out his design. I know he's improved a few things over the suit I used to fly with."

"Oh, and I don't know about any redundant systems for the engine, this is my first test flight with it, but I do know there's a parachute as well as the wings for backup if the engine fails."

"Good. Good. Nothing better than dual redundancies. And I understand about the specs. Tell him I'd be willing to share the specs on the ground transport, without the power source, unfortunately. That's something I'm worried about falling into the wrong hands. I'm sure you understand. Can you extend the wings again for me?"

"Sure," Sam says taking a step back and looking to his left and right. "Stay right there, cause these guys come out quick and with force."

And so saying, he releases the wings.

Once he's done so, Dejah walks in close, peering at them but somehow managing to keep from touching. "These are amazing, simply amazing. And you say the Americans developed this technology?"

"Feel free to touch them if you'd like," Sam says with a smile, not realizing what he is unleashing. "To be honest, my niece came up with the basic idea. As far as I know, the DoD has given up on the project. Oh, sorry, DoD means Department of Defense. The Air Force may be keeping the original design on the books, but as far as I've heard, they decided the suits were too difficult to train for and thus impractical."

"Oh yes, I imagine the learning curve is quite steep." She begins by examining the joints of the thing, looking where the expansion and folding algorithms mesh.

Her voice is a bit distracted. "And I'm quite familiar with your Department of Defense. One of the top military forces on your planet, while a significant portion of the country's population still struggles to find basic necessities like food and shelter. I will never understand your country's priorities."

Jay's been up in the mountain testing some new gear of his own. He brings the bike in to a stop at speed, drifting it sideways to sit and watch Sam fly.

After a moment he sets his heads up display to record and sits it between the handles of the bike.

Sam's pretty happy with the primary testing and so decides to push things farther, barrel rolling into a climb. Once he gets some more height, he pulls up to see if he can stall the engines. Stress tests are always a good idea right?

Jay has a smart phone in hand, making swift notes that time-lock to the footage his helmet is recording. He cocks an eyebrow, wondering if he did clock the engines at a high enough rev for the way Sam's pushing it.

The engines are doing great but then Sam notices a change in their vibration and pitch, as if they are straining. Hand on the parachute release, just in case, he continues.

Jay watches with a look of frustration. He can tell the engine is straining and wants to tweak the intake to keep the revs lower. He can see there's a risk it's going to stall out.

For a few seconds, the engines return to their previous pitch but Sam's not fooled; which pays off as the engines sputter and stall. Having expected it to happen, well it was what he was aiming for after all, he lets gravity slow his assent as he pulls his legs up to shift his pitch. Once he starts falling, it's a simple matter to turn it into a lazy spiral, which the wings handle beautifully.

Once at a lower altitude, Sam ponders trying the engine again but decides now might be a good time to try a non-powered landing instead.

Jay growls and sends the little drones flying for his tools. He moves out into the open field, waiting for Sam to land. At Lear the balance on the wings makes the glide smooth.

The glide is smooth and the wings are more than capable of carrying it as long as Sam would wish. He sees Jay running and angles that way, firing up the engines again once he's near and low enough to make a landing.

"Jay, these are great!"

But Jay's still frowning, already pulling a diagnostic tool from his belt. "How high was it revving when the engine stalled?" He's clearly determined he can do better.

Sam gives a detailed account of the pitch and tempo of the engine, as well as noting the temperature of the engines at the time. He also stand still so Jay can access the pack.

"I think the atmosphere have more to do with things. It gets much thinner much faster here than I expected. I'm afraid I don't have a reading for that as I wasn't thinking of it at the time."

Jay nods and fiddles with a couple of settings inside the engine, holding Sam's shoulder as he tweaks the engine's capacitors. "Alright, give that a go. It might still stall but it should hold up to a higher rev." He whistles to the drones and sends another one skittering for more gear. "I'll measure the atmospheric pressure on the next run. Didn't even think of that."

Down on the ground a slim, dark-haired girl dressed in black is watching him from her perch atop a rock near the shore.

Maybe she is observing his technique.

(Maybe she is concerned he will take a tumble and need help getting back to the bar.)

It will never actually occur to her to wave.

That's okay, he's more focused on the wings' perform for now. He sticks to a loose oval for now but alters his flight to include barrel roles, wing wobbles, and corkscrews.

X might catch laughing ever now and then.

If he moves too far away from her position, she may well follow him. He's faster in the air, but she is very persistent. And used to second-guessing teleporting companions, so there's that.

Sam switches tactics now, diving towards the ground and at the last minutes flipping his legs out and leaning back to allow the jet pack to slow his momentum.

If X knew him better, there might be a surprise fake!ambush at some point.

But as it is she just keeps watching him, head tilted as she studies his technique.

And takes note of potential weak spots.

Momentum reduced, he's landing and starts running to catch the last of it. His breathing is a little faster than usual, but it's more excitement than exhaustion.

"Rolling would be safer," X offers, as she moves to intercept his jogging path.

"For your legs."

Beat.

"I do not think you heal very fast."

Sam turns, a little surprised.

"That is a good idea," He says after some consideration. "I got in the habit of running landings cause I never knew if I would be landing in a hot zone or not, but a rolling landing would also work as a defense if anyone were ready to fire when I land."

"And it is easier to run with a broken shoulder than a broken leg."

Even if neither of them is easy.

Not that X has tried. (Her broken limbs don't last long enough.)

"You like flying?"

"That is very true," Sam replies a little worried at the observation. It's true of course, but coming from someone who reads as a teen to Sam, it's a little odd.

Of course, her mannerisms and speech patterns read as atypical to Sam as well.

"Love it. Though I'm not much of a pilot. You?"

"I do not fly," she offers. "On my own."

Beat.

"But I can pilot. And there are dragons, sometimes."

Another, longer pause.

"And one of my teammates has wings. But they are not mechanical. Now."

"Sounds like you lead a very eventful life." Sam notes with a smile. He's not ever sure where to begin with that, the dragon or the teammate who had mechanical wings which aren't any longer.

"Sam Wilson." He adds with a wave.

"I am X."

Her response is simple and quick. And true.

"I like to be busy."

Beat.

"Your life is not? Busy."

What? He has wings.

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