Test Flight!
Eiko strapped herself into the seat, looking at the panels. The machine had been in good condition for a derelict when she found it, and the reconditioning had brought it back to a factory shine. The computers had left information in English and Japanese, so she left them in Japanese. The other seats - the ones for Captain, Flight Engineer, and Gunner - had their consoles locked down hard, just to make sure there wasn’t going to be a problem.
She tapped keys onto a console - this one wasn't equipped with a remote link yet, because she wasn't sure about its data security. Six lights went from black to red to green, and then there was a wash of blue light.
And suddenly, there she was, hovering about twenty feet above a desert floor. "PINpoint transit complete," she said, "and looks like it all came with us."
At four hundred fifty feet long and almost thirty thousand tons, that had been iffy. In a disabled state, transporting it had been easy; in motion, powered up, it was a lot harder. The computers, though, were able to coordinate the jump.
"Preparing flight test."
/* 0:00 */
A series of lights flickered on and off; two displays changed and stayed that way. One showed reactor temperature; the other showed flight speed. Then the stereo started, playing a synthesizer line, deep notes. Drums came up behind it, as the machine started flying, accellerating smoothly. A man's voice sounded a cry of joy.
/* 0:58 */
Eiko flipped the thumb-switch cover off the throttle, pressing the button down, while slamming the throttle all the way to the firewall, and the great metal dragon launched forwards into the sky, twin plumes of flame coming out from the two side engines. The flight speed shot from 100 MPH to 1000 MPH in mere seconds, pressing Eiko back into her seat with a howl of glee. (The systems worked perfectly, though - instead of turning her into pudding, it was just a firm press back into the seat.
/* 1:28 */
One man!
One Goal!
One Mission!
One Heart!
One Soul!
Just One Solution!
As the song drove forwards, Eiko turned off the extra power to the engines, throttling back slightly, cruising just above the sound barrier.
/* 2:05 */
The world turned below her, as they shot over forests, plains, deserts, around a mountain (this machine being ridiculously maneuverable), and then over an ocean.
/* 3:25 */
No hate no fight
Just excitation
All through the night
Its a celebration wowowowo yeah!
Another screen flashed as they shot across the ocean:
ETERNAL SYSTEM: ONLINE
INCREASE SPEED TO ACTIVATE
Eiko grinned, and once again firewalled the throttle in a single slam, hitting the boosters again.
/* 4:24 */
And from the engines, massive wings of fire, fusion fire redirected to the sides, spread out, as the huge mechanical dragon suddenly cut a burning trail through the sky of this nearly-empty world. No humans trod it; for some reason, the higher hominids never evolved. No, here the chimpanzees and the gorillas still were the top of the hominid tree.
"THAT'S WHAT THAT DOES!" Eiko shouted in absolute glee. She laughed out loud, with utter merriment.
Mekamanda, wings of fire from its sides, flew through the sky at twice the speed of sound.
/* end. */
Finally, she brought it to a stop, settling the whole thing down in a chunk of desert that showed no sighs of any animal life larger than insectoid. As the whole machine ticked slowly, cooling, she grinned.
"I call that a successful test flight."
She tapped keys onto a console - this one wasn't equipped with a remote link yet, because she wasn't sure about its data security. Six lights went from black to red to green, and then there was a wash of blue light.
And suddenly, there she was, hovering about twenty feet above a desert floor. "PINpoint transit complete," she said, "and looks like it all came with us."
At four hundred fifty feet long and almost thirty thousand tons, that had been iffy. In a disabled state, transporting it had been easy; in motion, powered up, it was a lot harder. The computers, though, were able to coordinate the jump.
"Preparing flight test."
/* 0:00 */
A series of lights flickered on and off; two displays changed and stayed that way. One showed reactor temperature; the other showed flight speed. Then the stereo started, playing a synthesizer line, deep notes. Drums came up behind it, as the machine started flying, accellerating smoothly. A man's voice sounded a cry of joy.
/* 0:58 */
Eiko flipped the thumb-switch cover off the throttle, pressing the button down, while slamming the throttle all the way to the firewall, and the great metal dragon launched forwards into the sky, twin plumes of flame coming out from the two side engines. The flight speed shot from 100 MPH to 1000 MPH in mere seconds, pressing Eiko back into her seat with a howl of glee. (The systems worked perfectly, though - instead of turning her into pudding, it was just a firm press back into the seat.
/* 1:28 */
One man!
One Goal!
One Mission!
One Heart!
One Soul!
Just One Solution!
As the song drove forwards, Eiko turned off the extra power to the engines, throttling back slightly, cruising just above the sound barrier.
/* 2:05 */
The world turned below her, as they shot over forests, plains, deserts, around a mountain (this machine being ridiculously maneuverable), and then over an ocean.
/* 3:25 */
No hate no fight
Just excitation
All through the night
Its a celebration wowowowo yeah!
Another screen flashed as they shot across the ocean:
ETERNAL SYSTEM: ONLINE
INCREASE SPEED TO ACTIVATE
Eiko grinned, and once again firewalled the throttle in a single slam, hitting the boosters again.
/* 4:24 */
And from the engines, massive wings of fire, fusion fire redirected to the sides, spread out, as the huge mechanical dragon suddenly cut a burning trail through the sky of this nearly-empty world. No humans trod it; for some reason, the higher hominids never evolved. No, here the chimpanzees and the gorillas still were the top of the hominid tree.
"THAT'S WHAT THAT DOES!" Eiko shouted in absolute glee. She laughed out loud, with utter merriment.
Mekamanda, wings of fire from its sides, flew through the sky at twice the speed of sound.
/* end. */
Finally, she brought it to a stop, settling the whole thing down in a chunk of desert that showed no sighs of any animal life larger than insectoid. As the whole machine ticked slowly, cooling, she grinned.
"I call that a successful test flight."