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Jun 26, 2014 22:13:22 GMT -5
Post by Digizel on Jun 26, 2014 22:13:22 GMT -5
Jet rocketed forward, eventually feeling himself collide with the metallic carapace of Tanen's Scizor form. Soon after the impact, however, he felt something wrap around his body and he was finally able to slightly relax a bit more. At least, he was able to stop flailing his arms randomly through the air now. He slowly opened his eyes again to see that it was Tanen's arm that had wrapped around him, catching him just as he had said he would earlier. When Tanen finally set him down again, causing him to grab hold of the seat to make sure that he didn't go floating off or something, he couldn't help but look to the side and blush slightly in his awkward embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, Tanen," he murmured lowly. "I-I didn't mean to slam into you like that.... I-I didn't think I had that in me."
After a moment's silence to try to relax himself a bit more, Jet took a deep breath. "Y-you really think that wasn't that bad...?" he asked, albeit with a doubtful tone. He looked over to the opposite side of the room. He soon spun himself back around in his chair, placing his feet against it again. "W-well, I-I guess I'll give it a try." With that, and without even waiting for Tanen to react, he pushed himself off of the seat again.
This time, however, Jet set off in a more at a more appropriate, workable velocity. His aim as to make it across the chamber and back to his original seat. He had still pushed himself a little bit harder than what was necessary, causing him to flail around in the air for a short while...but this time, he could actually control himself. Well...control himself enough at least. He was still in a clearly panicked mode as he moved toward his destination...but finally, his arms locked around the seat in another death grip, not wanting to let go again very soon.
Despite his panic and paranoia, however, Jet had finally managed his first successful zero gravity movement without some kind of undesired collision.
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Beyond
Jun 26, 2014 22:35:44 GMT -5
Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jun 26, 2014 22:35:44 GMT -5
As Jet began rocketing across the ship, Dr. Porygon could only stand... er, float there and watch. He figured Tanen would be able to pull through and safely retrieve Jet, as anything the doctor could have said likely would have confused or distracted them. He was especially glad to see that it only took one more try for the Buizel to make a successful trip. As Jet clung tightly to the seat, Dr. Porygon couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"Excellent, Jet, excellent," Porygon praised. "As long as you remember not to apply too much force, you should be able to get around just fine with a litle more practice. Our tour around the ship should help with that, and then you'll have..." He glanced at a clock on the side of the ship. "...two hours or so to get further accustomed to it. Or you could just remain seated until it's time to leave orbit, if you prefer, though I strongly recommend you get in some more zero-G practice while you can.
"Anyway, unless anyone has anything else to address, I believe it's high time I introduce you to the many rooms and facilities of my greatest invention yet," said Porygon with a hint of pride.
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Beyond
Jun 29, 2014 13:05:11 GMT -5
Post by Digizel on Jun 29, 2014 13:05:11 GMT -5
Jet certainly didn't have any objections, so he allowed Dr. Porygon to start showing him around. He was definitely going to take Dr. Porygon's advice and get adjusted to this zero gravity nonsense in these next two hours. It was going to be an extremely basic skill that he was going to have to master if he wanted to make it to this other planet that Dr. Porygon had discovered.
Jet was fascinated throughout the entirety of the tour. Of particular interest to him was the Synthesizer room just outside of the cockpit. He had asked Dr. Porygon on specifics of how they worked, but then he had quickly realized that Tanen might not particularly care. He would have to remember to apologize for making him sit through that later. The doctor had also explained that this was the room where the artificial gravity had been installed, despite it not working. If the doctor ever got that working, he imagined himself spending more time here.
Soon enough, the tour was finished and Jet found himself without anything to do. The whole tour hadn't lasted any longer than a half hour since there really wasn't a whole lot in the ship. But, he knew what he should be doing now at least. The tour itself had ended with them stopping at the sleeping quarters on the top side of the ship, so he figured this would be a good time and place to ask. He quickly turned to Tanen. "H-hey, Tanen..?" he asked. "I...er...h-hate to bother you, but do you think you could help me work on my navigational skills for a few minutes while we're here...?" he asked. During the tour itself, he felt like he had started to slowly grow accustomed to it...but even so, he was still having difficulties controlling his speed. The amount of force he needed seemed so nonsensical to him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shake the subconscious process of using more strength than necessary to push himself off of objects, sometimes to the points where he even slightly slowed down the tour as he tried to navigate around objects. It just seemed so impossible for him to get used to such an absence of gravity....
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Jul 13, 2015 2:18:45 GMT -5
Post by Wombat on Jul 13, 2015 2:18:45 GMT -5
The tour was... well, it was informative, if a little boring at times with the way Tanen's two science-minded friends went on. Tanen found himself improving greatly at his zero-g maneuvering, even using his wings to perform midflight course changes. He realized, as they discussed the air systems, that this worked because there was air in here. He hoped they didn't end up out in the vacuum at any point, but if they did he'd have to remember not to instinctively try to navigate with his wings.
Tanen gently offered his assistance whenever Jet seemed particularly hindered by an obstacle, but mostly decided to let his friend figure it out for himself. After all, Tanen wouldn't always be there to help, right? It was good to learn this way, perhaps it would stick better. Tanen hoped that wasn't just his own flawed, Rocket-influenced thinking.
As the tour concluded and Tanen began to turn toward the room he'd picked out for himself, Jet called his name and prompted the Scizor to turn back around. "Hm? What's up?" In his usual timid fashion, Jet was requesting help learning to navigate with the weird physics. "Hey, sure! We can practice as long as you need, man. Just pick a spot and we'll go. The Doc said we had a couple hours, right? Plenty of time."
He stretched a foot down to push off the "floor" toward Jet, braking with his wings as he approached. "Dibs on that room, by the way," he said. "I like to be further from the exit, makes it feel more private. Long as you don't mind."
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Jul 13, 2015 21:59:30 GMT -5
Post by Digizel on Jul 13, 2015 21:59:30 GMT -5
Jet couldn't help but notice Tanen's own skill in maneuvering this zero-gravity environment increasing as the tour went on. Especially when he was always there to help him recover from being stuck around various obstacles. But that only made him all the more eager to learn from him. And so, when he finally had a chance to ask Tanen, he was relieved when the Scizor was more than willing to help. He watched with awe as he was so skillfully able to use his wings to his advantage. He smiled slightly up at his friend and nodded. "Y-yeah, we do have plenty of time. Th-thanks, Tanen." He was slightly embarrassed to be asking, but he certainly did not want to get in anyone's way later. "And...y-yeah, you can have that one if you want. I-I'll just take the one next to it. I-if you don't mind, that is."
The two worked around the corridor and the different rooms for quite some time. Jet took his slow, sweet time getting adjusted. Tanen mostly let him make his own adjustments and try to fix his own mistakes, but was not afraid to offer him various advice to get him used to it. Jet was still having trouble, but eventually began to get the hang of it. At least he was more capable of swinging himself around corners. He still had difficulties fighting his own strength, but there was not much Tanen could do to help him with that.
With most of his problems worked out in roughly forty-five minutes of practice, Jet told Tanen that he would try to work the rest out himself. "Th-thanks again," he said, smiling up at him. He wasn't sure where he'd be right now if it weren't for him. "A-and...I'm, erm...sorry for making the tour take so long with all my questions."
Once everything was said and done, Jet found himself returning to his room. For another half-hour, he spent struggling to fight his own temptations to kick off of surfaces too strong. It was just something he was not able to grasp for some strange reason. And it didn't help that he didn't have any way to maneuver or slow himself down mid-flight like Tanen did. But that wasn't usually a problem since he was capable of planning out his route ahead of time in a matter of moments. So long as he could see or otherwise knew exactly where he was going and what he could catch onto.
After he figured he had practiced enough for now, Jet turned his attention to the bookshelf nearby in the room that he had picked for himself. He wasn't sure what kind of books Dr. Porygon had left in thee rooms, but he still enjoyed reading, so his curiosity was piqued. And after all, it could be an interesting twist, reading a book in zero gravity....
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Jul 14, 2015 14:55:56 GMT -5
Post by Wombat on Jul 14, 2015 14:55:56 GMT -5
Tanen was surprised by his own patience as he worked with Jet in the corridors. It was weird to feel how genuinely caring he felt, a little burst of excitement each time he saw his friend improve. By the time they decided to wrap it up roughly an hour after they'd started, Jet was whizzing around with little difficulty, aside from the continued issue of pushing off too hard. Tanen really wasn't sure that he could address that problem too well. Finally, Jet decided he'd had enough practice for now, and they split off to their own rooms.
"Hey, don't worry about that, man," Tanen said in response to Jet's apology. "You two with the big brains find it interesting, I probably would too if I could understand any of it." He waved a claw in farewell before disappearing into his room. Man, he was tired. He glanced at the bed, and briefly wondered if Dr. Porygon had somehow arranged for them not to float away while they slept. Changing back to his Furret form, Tanen floated across to the bed and pushed himself down onto it (after a brief collision with the wall when he forgot that this form didn't have wings; good thing nobody was watching).
The room was pretty simple, somewhat to Tanen's disappointment. It was just the necessities, and books. So many books. Boring. He sighed, resigned to boredom for the next hour or two, and settled into the bed as best he could. It was surprisingly soft, and the Furret form's soft fur was a lot more welcoming than a steel-hard exoskeleton. Wrapped tightly in a blanket in hopes of not floating away, Tanen found himself drifting off to sleep.
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Jul 14, 2015 15:27:27 GMT -5
Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jul 14, 2015 15:27:27 GMT -5
While Jet and Tanen practiced, Dr. Porygon toured the ship himself, making sure all systems were in order before the next phase in the trip. To his delight, everything was just the way he had left it. Now all that was left was to hope it all held together during acceleration. Unable to put it off any longer, he floated over to the cockpit and flipped on the microphone. "Attention, passengers!" he announced. "We will be leaving orbit in thirty minutes. Please make your way to the seating area and strap yourselves in for acceleration."
Half an hour passed. The ship had just about reached the angle of departure. Porygon cleared his throat, steeling his nerves as best as he could. "Is everyone buckled down and ready?" he asked his passengers over the intercom one final time. "First off, I'll adjust the ship's angle so that we're pointed in the right direction. Then I will begin the escape burn. When we have reached a safe distance from our home planet, I'll engage the hyperdrive engine. If all goes well, we should be headed straight for the other solar system as fast as technologically possible. Here we go..." The ship began to slowly rotate itself so that it was pointed somewhat up and away from the planet below, and then it stopped. "We're in position," Porygon continued. "So far, so good. Now, the burn could take up to an hour, so if you want to set up some form of entertainment for the wait, please do so now. It's not a good idea to move around too much while we're accelerating." He waited until everyone stopped moving before he carried on. "Okay. Beginning orbital escape burn in five... four... three... two... one... fire!"
The engines roared to life just as they had done before, and the ship began to accelerate, pressing Jet and Tanen against the seats. "I'll need to leave the throttle on for several minutes as we build speed, so bear with me..." explained the Virtual Pokemon as he kept an eye on the fuel indicator, as well as the ship's relative speed to the planet. "Let's see... Target speed estimated to establish in 25 minutes... or so..." he muttered to himself. "Accounting for the sun's gravitational influence... making sure the ship won't pass too near another body... all right, everything looks good. Please wait until the maneuver is completed before moving from your seats," Porygon advised.
Roughly half an hour later, Porygon's voice chimed in again. "Target speed acquired... stopping the burn... now." The engines cut off, and the acceleration that forced everything in the ship toward the back finally ceased. The planet in the window had already shrunken quite a ways and was now doing so at a steady rate. "It'll be a little while longer before we can engag--"
THUD. A loud noise resounded from the rear of the ship as it shook rather violently for a brief moment. An alarm sounded as the stars began to spin briskly around them.
"We've been hit!" cried Porygon, frantically moving between controls and readings on the console, trying to work out what to do. "Don't panic, don't panic!" he chanted, mostly to himself. He settled on one display which served as a short-range radar, staring at it for a good long time. "Uh... hm... nothing's on the radar... I don't SEE anything out there..." He leaned toward the window, trying to get a good look, but the constant spinning was making it hard to tell what was where. "Nothing that obviously could have hit us, anyway..." He shut off the alarm, as it was starting to give him a headache. The silence was palpable. "I... have no idea what just happened," Porygon admitted. "It could have been a chunk of space debris, a small meteorite, or even an engine fault... but whatever it is, it's not immediately threatening us again right now, and we don't appear to have taken serious damage... Hang on, I'm correcting our course..."
The ship's angle rapidly changed as Porygon wrestled with the engines, trying to keep them moving straight again. It took a minute or two, but he finally managed to get the universe to stop spinning around them.
"Whew..." sighed Porygon, the danger gone for the time being. "Are both of you all right back there? And did anyone manage to see anything?"
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Beyond
Jul 14, 2015 15:48:54 GMT -5
Post by Wombat on Jul 14, 2015 15:48:54 GMT -5
It was a depressingly brief nap, but it was enough for Tanen to feel refreshed when Dr. Porygon's announcement woke him up. "Huhh... It's time already?" he muttered blearily, sitting up and shaking his head. He forgot for a moment that he was in zero-g and launched himself across the room in trying to hop out of the bed, barely catching himself against the bookshelf with his stubby little paws. "Okay, all right, okay yeah, space, right. Gotcha."
Still taking comfort in the more natural, furry body, Tanen left the room as a Furret and began making his way along the route he recalled leading to the passenger area. He grabbed the same seat he'd used during takeoff, sliding himself in and looking around. It wouldn't be as rough as takeoff, but maybe it was best to go back to Scizor anyway. Navigating the corridors had been noticeably more difficult without wings, after all. "Aw, man. Seeya later, fur," he lamented as he changed forms.
Tanen buckled in and stared out the window with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation. He could see DN2 drifting serenely below them, greens and blues and browns that he'd started to call 'home'. Then, the Doctor engaged the thrusters to point the ship out into space, and the view of the planet slipped away from Tanen's view. He swallowed hard and set his gaze on the seat in front of him. He looked at Jet and offered a shaky smile, then gripped the seat as a great rumbling began at their backs. Tanen stared out the window for just a few seconds before his stomach started doing flip-flops and he ended up closing his eyes and clinging to the seat for dear life for the rest of the burn.
Porygon's announcement that the maneuver was complete was a welcome event, but Tanen waited until he couldn't feel the rushing acceleration any more before he opened his eyes. Just in time for a loud thump from alarmingly close by, followed by nauseating gyrations, and the sight of the stars whirling as the ship lost control. Tanen opened his mouth to shout, but nothing came out. He barely even registered the Doctor's ramblings as he worked to correct the effects of the collision.
His head was still spinning when the ship finally leveled out and Dr. Porygon addressed them. "Wh-wha... what the hell was that?!" Tanen cried, eyes darting between the viewscreen and the starscape beyond the window. "How could I have seen anything when the whole world was spinning around me?" He knew it was totally irrational, but part of Tanen's panic sprung from the idea that Fred had somehow followed him. He knew the Reuniclus was back on DN2, with the charred remains of the lab, but some fears just don't die easy. "H-holy sh*t. I need a moment."
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Beyond
Jul 14, 2015 22:47:08 GMT -5
Post by Digizel on Jul 14, 2015 22:47:08 GMT -5
Jet looked up--or down, given that he was hanging in the middle of the room, floating horizontal and upside-down-- from the new book he had pulled out from the shelf and was looking at. He was still rubbing the side of his head with one of his paws, though, as he had accidentally ended up slamming his head against the side of the shelf when he was trying to push himself to it and exchange books. He listened to Dr. Porygon's announcement and suddenly felt a rush of excitement and exhilaration, but also a hint of sadness and regret. They were about to set off into deep space, a place Jet had always been curious about himself. He had often thought about exploring deep space and discovering all kinds of wondrous facts that wouldn't have been possible when stuck on a planet.
But at the same time, he felt a strange longing to stay where he was. After all, he had spent a good amount of time in this world and had virtually already set up a new life for himself that he had become content with. He had all kind of new friends that he never had as a human, he had a job that he truly enjoyed...and up to this point, he had called this place his home. Part of him longed to return to the surface below.
The Buizel shook his head, finally turning his attention to the doorway. he saw a flash of light orange as a Furret passed through the hallway in front of him. There was no time for such sentimentalities right now. He had already made his choice and it was too late to turn back now. So he had to see this through anyway, and no amount of worrying or last-minute regrets would be able to change that. And with that on his mind, he slowly and cautiously worked his way back to the passenger cabin and also managed to seat himself beside Tanen. He felt some tension he didn't even realize he was feeling melt away slightly when he saw that Tanen had changed back to a Scizor, a form that he was far more familiar with. Hopefully, things would only start looking up from here.
It wasn't any surprise when Dr. Porygon finally chimed in on the PA system yet again when he was finally seated. It seemed like he was going to right their position before anything else. He supposed that made sense. And soon enough, he felt the ship start to spin rather slowly, and it wasn't long before the Porygon claimed that they were ready. And judging from the view he could get from the window nearby, it looked true. So there was nothing to do now but wait for their escape from orbit once the doctor's countdown finished.
With each counted second, Jet felt slightly more anxious and his body instinctively tensed itself. He did not even seem to notice Tanen's smile in his direction. He was too focused on Dr. Porygon's countdown. And once it was finished, a familiar sensation pressed against his body, forcing him back into his seat. He instinctively shut his eyes and his paws clutched the arms of the seat. He couldn't watch the universe spin. It'd only make him feel even more uneasy than he already felt. His body shook somewhat, enough that it would have been visible to the Scizor beside him had he not also shut his eyes.
When the doctor's voice came onto the system again, he was somewhat relieved. Still, he did not let up on his own tension and grip. He didn't want to relax until he was sure that everything was all over. Thankfully, he could feel the g-forces letting up on his body, so it was almost time. However, just as he was considering letting himself relax, a loud thud resonated throughout the entire cabin and the world was suddenly spinning around him. The Buizel couldn't help himself this time. His grip on his seat grew tighter, as did his eyes. He even let out a vocal cry of surprise and fear, shouting as though he were riding some kind of rollercoaster that he had been forced onto against his will.
Thankfully, the doctor was able to level the ship before too long and his scream died with it...though his head was still spinning from the results of the impact. However, his body was visibly shaking from the shaking. He wasn't sure he could identify a time when he had felt more fear...except perhaps for when he had faced Fred, Sora and that Sneasel for the first time.
When things finally began to settle down, however, he was finally able to release some of his built-up tension; especially as his head returned to normal and he could barely make out what the doctor and Tanen were saying. He let out an audible groan and looked around the cabin for the first time since the initial thrust. However, as soon as he had his bearings, a lot of the information he had taken in was processed all at once, now that he was starting to return to a normal state of mind. And his own eyes widened at the realization that something must have hit them from outside.
"D-Doctor, is it safe to move around, yet...?" Jet asked for clarification. "I-I...I think looking for the source of that impact should be our first priority. I-I mean before anything else. I-it could be dangerous leaving whatever it was potentially latched onto the ship."
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Beyond
Jul 15, 2015 2:48:36 GMT -5
Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jul 15, 2015 2:48:36 GMT -5
Dr. Porygon braced himself on the control panel, waiting for his head to stop spinning. While it was true that the danger seemed to have passed, Jet brought up a very good point. The collision could have been a deliberate attack on the ship, or an invader intending to board. He glanced over the readings again, seeing nothing out of place. The ship's mass was normal, there were no hull breaches or damaged equipment... he didn't have any way of knowing there was nobody else aboard the ship, but if there was, how did they get inside undetected, leaving no trace? Even if they could teleport inside, why would they have to hit the ship to do it, alerting everyone to their presence? None of that made any sense. Or perhaps his readings were faulty, in which case somebody would have to leave the ship and examine the hull manually...
Porygon took a moment to regain himself. "Yes, it is safe to move around now that we are back up to speed..." he assured Jet. "I suppose we should try to figure out what that was..." He glanced over his dashboard again, and just as he expected, nothing had changed in that short time. "The only problem is, my instruments are telling me nothing. Not even a clue as to what hit us. I'm afraid the only way we'll be able to know for sure is for someone to don a spacesuit and investigate the outside of the ship. Since we are at a constant speed, it should be safe enough..." He gazed absently out of the window. "Then again, whatever it was could be waiting for one of us to do just that. It's possible we're dealing with much more advanced technology, capable of perhaps cloaking themselves from view and remaining undetectable by radar."
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'd rather not take that risk. If it's something with the technology to strike, or latch onto, the ship and leave no evidence of doing so, then... and I'm sorry to say it... we're probably doomed regardless."
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Jul 15, 2015 12:52:51 GMT -5
Post by Digizel on Jul 15, 2015 12:52:51 GMT -5
As soon as Jet heard Dr. Porygon confirm his thoughts on the safety of moving around, Jet unbuckled himself rather quickly. He had to stop himself from shaking for a moment but it didn't take him long. Of course, Jet knew the possibility of an attack this soon after launching was not unreasonable...but still. Perhaps whatever it was that had collided with the ship was not hostile? He certainly felt that it was another viable possibility. If they were struck with something that had latched onto the ship, there was no doubt that Dr. Porygon would at least be able to know about it somehow. Which then implied to Jet that this might not be just something attached to them.
"W-well, I get what you're saying, Doctor..." Jet murmured, looking toward the floor as his body gently lifted itself back into the middle of the room. He crossed his arms and thought about it once more. "B-but, um...I-I want to do it." He then looked up at the Porygon on the monitor. "I-it's true that the possibility exists that this form is hostile a-and only wants to lure us out. B-but there's also another significant possibility. A-and if it's the latter, then I...w-well, I think it's a risk worth taking. A-and on the off chance that it is hostile, I-I think I should be the one to do it. Dr. Porygon is obviously needed." He then looked over at his friend Tanen. "...And Tanen is probably of more use. H-he's braver, stronger, has two separate forms and can better make his way through a low-gravity environment. E-even if I have a...few select advantageous traits myself...I-I think they are less advantageous than his."
Jet then let out a small sigh, clearly having already made up his mind. "S-so...in the end...I-I think I'm the best suited to take the risks necessary. A-and I do think that this risk is worth taking."
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Beyond
Jul 16, 2015 10:21:22 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Wombat on Jul 16, 2015 10:21:22 GMT -5
If Jet was to look more closely, he'd see that Tanen was not much better off following the burn and collision than the Buizel was. His shell of cool calmness was cracking in multiple places, and now Tanen was trying to decide which scared him more -- the idea that something was on their ship that they didn't know about, or the idea of going out into space to meet it.
"Yeah you know what I think the Doctor's right let's go I don't wanna go out there--" his rapid, almost panicked speech was cut off as Jet spoke up to -- of all things, to volunteer. "W-wait, what? Jet, what are you saying?! D-do you have any idea how dangerous it is out there? C'mon, it was p-probably just-- just I dunno, a meteor! Some harmless space rock!"
It seemed that Jet's decision was set. Tanen's face fell as his friend explained why he believed he was most suited to face the dangers. Tanen looked down at his claws, and found that they were trembling. He looked back at Jet and held up his claws to show his friend. "Brave? Jet, oh Arceus, look at me, I'm not brave! Look, this is how I really am, it's all an act... Truth is, I'm a coward, I always have been! I just... Hide it well."
He looked away with a sigh, his breaths coming short and quick. He couldn't bear to look Jet in the eyes. "A-anyway. Jet, you're the one who's brave. You know it's dangerous and you're going anyway. I can't do that," he said as firmly as he could. Looking nervously up at Dr. Porygon on the screen, Tanen let out a long, shuddering sigh. "Well, if he's really set on going out there... Is-- is there anything I can do? Any way I can help from in here?"
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Jul 16, 2015 15:32:20 GMT -5
Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jul 16, 2015 15:32:20 GMT -5
Porygon's eyes widened in shock upon hearing Jet volunteer to investigate. He guessed that one of them might, but he had hoped otherwise. Jet's reasoning certainly didn't make him feel any better. "Jet..." he uttered. "I appreciate the concern, and the boldness, but... if you're saying you're expendable, I'd have to correct you on that. Nobody on this ship is expendable. Everyone on this ship has something to contribute, and if something were to happen to any one of us, we would all be unlikely to survive for very long. Running the ship may not seem like a high-maintenance task right now, but if... or dare I say, when we run into trouble, we're going to need all the help we can get."
He sighed, knowing this probably wouldn't change the Buizel's mind in the slightest. "But if I know you, Jet," he continued, "you're not going to be satisfied until the site of impact is thoroughly examined. And you're not going to let anyone else be the one to leave the ship. As much as I want to stop you, I admit this is what I admire about you the most, Jet." The monitor shut off. Moments later, Dr. Porygon himself entered the room, approaching Jet. "Your undying loyalty. Your willingness to take whatever risk is necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of your friends. It'd be a shame to lose that, but... you're right. This is what makes you the most suited for the task. Again, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, but that is your decision to make and yours alone."
He looked at Tanen. "There is something you can do," he explained. "While I stay in the cockpit to keep an eye on the ship's readings, you can station yourself by the airlock to monitor Jet's oxygen intake, and aid his movement in case he gets stuck. And, worst case scenario, you'd be able to pull him back in if we needed to abort for whatever reason."
Porygon nodded. "So. If everything is settled, shall we head to the airlock?"
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Beyond
Jul 16, 2015 16:03:08 GMT -5
Post by Digizel on Jul 16, 2015 16:03:08 GMT -5
Jet looked down, a little bit of red starting to cover his expression as his friends tried to talk him out of his volunteering and tried to tell him that he wasn't as expendable as he seemed to think. He looked up at Tanen, a familiar smile appearing on his face again through his blush and he shook his head. "H-heheh...don't be silly, Tanen." he said. "You're the one who always inspires me to do my best, even if I have my doubts. If I had never met you, I-I'm not sure if I'd have ever seen any real improvement at all." He rubbed the back of his head with his right arm regardless, however. It was clear that he was grateful for the praise either way.
When Porygon disappeared from the monitor, Jet had looked up at it, moderately surprised to hear the word "admire" being said with direct reference to him. A few moments later, Dr. Porygon himself entered the room, causing the Buizel's attention to be pulled to the doorway. His blush only deepened further at what the doctor had to tell him. "O-oh, u-um...th-thanks," he said, nervousness clearly growing from the attention he'd called onto himself. "I-I mean...I-I'm still not entirely sure what all I can meaningfully contribute otherwise, but...thanks."
The Buizel then nodded to nobody in particular. Even he wasn't really sure why. Perhaps it was just an attempt to throw off any last doubts he might have in his mind. He would have been fine, leaving things as they were and just taking off. But if that action ended up leading to a worse scenario later, then he could only blame himself for backing out of it. But on the other hand, there was still the possibility that he was most concerned about. And if he didn't make sure, he would probably be guilt-ridden later at what could have been true.
"Y-yeah," he said at last. "L-let's go. I still want to do this. Especially as long as there's a possibility that whatever hit us...wasn't intending to be hostile." He turned to leave, thinking back on the tour and where the airlock would be. He then looked down at the floor...and pushed off, making his way toward the exit of the passenger cabin, still having difficulties realizing his own strength.
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Beyond
Jul 16, 2015 19:05:25 GMT -5
Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jul 16, 2015 19:05:25 GMT -5
Dr. Porygon followed after Jet, letting him lead the way to the airlock. Good to know that he was paying attention during the tour, not that he didn't expect him to. When they entered the room overlooking the pressure chamber, Porygon went for one of the lockers. On the door of the locker was the word "JET" hastily etched in black marker. "In here is your space suit," Porygon explained. "Long ago, I took your measurements and had one made for you that would fit your form perfectly, allowing for easy maneuverability."
As he spoke, he opened the locker, revealing a white, full-body suit complete with transparent helmet. "The helmet has an in-built radio that is always active. In the rear of the helmet is a slot into which a tube can be inserted, which will act simultaneously as your oxygen supply and tether to the ship. On the back of the suit is a pack containing pressurized water vapor, which you can eject in small amounts to fine-tune your trajectory. In other words, a jetpack." He paused, taking a moment to acknowledge the awesomeness of such a thing existing. "Simply flip the lever to extend the controls on your left-hand side." He pointed out the lever on the backpack, which was conveniently located on the bottom within easy reach of the left arm. "Do take note of this, Tanen, as I have a suit for you as well that fits your Furret form. I decided not to create one for your Scizor form, as putting that in a suit might lead to... complications. I hope you understand."
He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Jet, you may suit up when ready. I believe I already explained the airlock usage procedures during our tour? I do tend to get carried away during my rambles, though, so I wouldn't blame you if you drowned that part out..." He looked away slightly out of embarrassment.
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Beyond
Jul 16, 2015 19:35:51 GMT -5
Post by Wombat on Jul 16, 2015 19:35:51 GMT -5
Tanen remained silent through the rest of the conversation, simply nodding when Dr. Porygon offered a task for him. He gave Jet a small smile, trying to reassure both himself and his friend. Recalling where the airlock was, Tanen pushed off to follow Jet and Dr. Porygon in that direction. His head was buzzing, but the short trip to the airlock offered him some time to clear his head, and by the time they reached the place Tanen actually felt ready to engage in conversation again.
"Wow, you really did come prepared," Tanen noted, admiration in his voice. He noticed another locker marked with his name, and assumed there was equipment in there for him, too. He wondered briefly how the Doctor had addressed his multiple forms, then had his question answered almost immediately by Dr. Porygon's explanation. "Oh, sweet. Uh, yeah, I get the, uh. The aversion to having sharp edges in the thing protecting me from death."
The mention of the airlock procedures caused embarrassment to more people than just the Doctor. Tanen blushed a little, realizing he'd totally tuned it out. He wasn't the one whose life was at stake here, though... but even still. "Uh, just in case, maybe you could give a little recap?" He suddenly remembered his last question before they'd left the passenger room and hastily added, "Oh, yeah! Um, could you show me how to do the thing that I'm gonna be doing here?"
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Beyond
Jul 20, 2015 2:09:29 GMT -5
Post by Digizel on Jul 20, 2015 2:09:29 GMT -5
Jet eyed the locker in front of them for a moment, wanting to take everything that the doctor was saying into his mind before he said or did anything more. After all, learning how to use this space suit was going to be more than necessary if he wanted to survive out in the vacuum of space by himself. He followed Dr. Porygon's words, turning the suit over so that he could see the left side of the backpack and identify where the level was for himself. This was rather efficiently designed. Tanen's words were quite accurate...the doctor truly had come very prepared.
The Buizel could not help but chuckle slightly at the mention of the difficulties in a Scizor using a space suit. "Heh...well, at least you're not still stuck with just a Scyther form," Jet commented. "That would probably be even harder for you to squeeze into without stabbing through anything." He chuckled again before nodding in Dr. Porygon's direction and beginning to slip himself into the suit. He slipped the lower half of the suit on first, slipping his feet and his tail into the bottom half. For a moment, he ended up getting his tail stuck on the outside and had to maneuver himself slightly to pull it down and get it into the suit as it was supposed to be.
He was already pulling himself into the upper part of the suit when Dr. Porygon asked them I they recalled the air lock procedures. "Ah, yes, you did, sir." he replied matter-of-factly while he slid his paws through the arms and popped his head through the hole at the top of the suit. He glanced at Tanen for a moment when he said that he wanted a quick recap. If his friend needed to know, he'd be more than happy to fill in the gaps for him. "I believe you said...you start by making sure the pressure inside matches the pressure in the ship. Then the door is opened and we step through, after which the door is closed." As he spoke, he began to pull the gloves onto his paws. "Then we wait until the air pressure slowly changes to match the outside of the ship. Finally, the outer door is opened, we leave, and the door closes again." He twisted the final glove into place, meaning the only thing he was now missing was the helmet. "...Did I miss anything...?"
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Beyond
Jul 20, 2015 3:01:14 GMT -5
Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jul 20, 2015 3:01:14 GMT -5
The doctor chuckled along with Jet in response to the idea of having a Scyther form. "Hoho, yes," he laughed, "I think I'd rather have no hands than giant, lethal blades poking around everywhere! Science is hard enough without the risk of slicing my inventions in half!" His laughter faded as he looked down at himself, remembering that he did in fact lack hands. "...especially for me," he mumbled. "I mean, I can manipulate things well enough with these appendages... somehow, but..."
He trailed off as Jet repeated the airlock procedures, taking his mind off of his own impossible anatomy. He counted all of the steps off on his nonexistent fingers as they were spoken. "My boy, I do believe that is 100% accurate," he praised with astonishment. "Well done!" It was quite a relief to know that at least one of them had been listening after all, not that he expected any less from Jet. "Once you have the helmet on and the tube attached, you may begin pressurizing the airlock while I explain Tanen's role. Assuming he pays attention," he added with another chuckle or two.
Porygon hovered toward the other end of the room, where a simple console sat adjacent to the wall. On the console was a small LCD display, and next to that were a handful of buttons and a throttle. "While anyone is fully suited," he began, "their readings will appear on the display. This is where you can see the air pressure inside their helmet, the length of the tube, and so on. The most important control is this lever here." He tapped the throttle. "Pull it towards you to reel in the tube, and away to give it more slack. Communication with the person outside the ship is important; adjust the throttle according to their situation. I would have made this more automatic, but my time to work on the ship was cut short. I wouldn't trust a half-finished computer program with my lifeline to the ship, would you? Hoho..." He laughed again, but this was more of a hollow laugh. If only he hadn't wasted so much time trying to perfect the gravity simulation module. "Anyway, if you see Jet's air pressure drop too low, for instance, or he stops communicating with you altogether, you should reel him in immediately. Better safe than sorry.
"Oh, and make sure that tube's in tight," he added in Jet's direction. "If Tanen pulls too fast, and the tube is loose enough, it might detach completely. That would be bad!" He shuddered at the thought of such a thing happening. "I don't mean to scare you or anything, but safety is crucial in this environment."
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