Shore Leave: Geartopia [Open to All]

[meat_mooks]

||Attention all crewmen, shore leave is now in progress, attention crewmen, shore leave is now in progress...||

Stacy's voiced called the entire crew, until all of them were gathered at the Obs Deck. Then, a dossier appeared on the screens, along with the image of a rotating planet.

Planet Designation: Geartopia
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-

Comments

General Store

[meat_mooks]

Owned for generations by the same family, the General Store sells rights for horse riding, train tickets (which you are not allowed to get, being outsiders). They also offer a lot of guns and steampunk items, however their prices are rather high.

The best way to get anything is by barter or offering a service.

[a_cyclone]

Maxine smiled brightly as Atom worked on the strays who were obviously a little bit more stubborn than the rest. "Good luck!" she cheered helpfully, and she began to focus her wind a little bit more-- not enough to hurt them or anything, of course! But enough to herd them a little bit further.

[tetsuwan_atom]

Slowly, the Shepofalant began making their way into the corral, some looking at them a little reproachfully as they did so and munching on the grass on the way. When they were finally inside, Atom shut the door, fastening the gate.

"Okay, chores done!"

[a_cyclone]

"Great!" Maxine said, very loudly and enthusiastically. She was genuinely happy and proud that the two of them had managed to herd the animals successfully. "That was awesome," she said encouragingly, letting her wind die down to a gentle breeze for a second before it dissipated completely. "Is there anything else we should do?"

[tetsuwan_atom]

Atom shook his head. "I think that's it! C'mon, let's go ask the farmer if we can get a ride now!"

He began making his way up to a grassy hill, where a canine man in coveralls was looking after a group of horses, some still grazing and saddle-less in the field.

[a_cyclone]

"Great!" Maxine said brightly, and she followed after Atom on foot, moving quickly and excitedly.

She stopped though when she saw the horses, face shifting to something more like silent awe. "Oh wow..." she said, looking them over. She was looking forward to this a lot. She just knew it was going to be a lot of fun.

[tetsuwan_atom]

The farmer in charge was more than happy to set them up with two horses, first helping Atom on by providing a set of wooden steps and bringing a horse up alongside for him to get on. Once Atom's feet were securely in the stirrups and the reins were in his hands, the man gave him some simple instructions: pull the reins to the side to instruct the animal to turn, pull back to tell it to stop.

Atom's horse (whose name was Comet, by the way) moved off a few steps and waited for Maxine.

[a_cyclone]

Maxine, at least, had the advantage of her flight to be able to lift herself up onto the horse, though she was very careful to not bother the horse too much with it. Once she had received instructions from the farmer, as well, she nodded enthusiastically and thanked him, then gently guided the horse to Atom's, the biggest smile on her face.

"C'mon," she said brightly to him. "Let's go!"

[tetsuwan_atom]

Atom urged Comet forward; the pinto obliged by trotting forward and starting down along the nearby riding trail.

"Whoa," he said, voice a little distorted by the movement of the ride, "This is a lot bumpier than I thought."

[a_cyclone]

"It is pretty bumpy," Maxine agreed with a nod, urging her own horse-- Dorothy-- forward. "I kind of knew it would be a bit, I've read up on this kind of thing before, but I guess I didn't quite expect it to be like this, either. It's more so than I thought, but it's nice anyway!"

[tetsuwan_atom]

As they approached a shallow stream, Comet began picking his way along the stones of the riverbed, sneaking a drink here and there while Atom wasn't paying attention.

"Yeah, it's pretty different from how it looks in the movies." Atom patted the big horse's neck. "Horses are pretty big, huh?" So big, in fact, that his stirrups had had to be adjusted and pulled up high in order for Atom to fit in them.

[a_cyclone]

"They really are," Maxine said with a smile, petting her horse's neck gently. She glanced over at Atom with a bit of a giggle. "Though I guess it's worse for you, huh? No offense or anything." She was a decent bit taller than him, after all. "I don't think I ever imagined actually doing this. I've seen and done a lot of crazy things in my life, but this is something so simple..."

[tetsuwan_atom]

Atom waved a hand at Maxine's concern. "I'm used to it. Besides, being short isn't so bad." And he was, after all, taller than Jr.

"You never thought you'd be riding a horse?" Atom blinked. "How come?"

Underneath him, Comet snorted as he made his way across the stream.

[a_cyclone]

"I don't think it's anything bad, no," Maxine agreed with a smile.

Maxine gently nudged Dorothy to follow after Comet, letting out a thoughtful hum. "Well, it's not so much that I never thought I'd ride a horse as I never thought about it much, I guess. I lived in cities most of my life so it wasn't a big thing."

[tetsuwan_atom]

"Hey, me too," Atom said as Comet picked his way back up the other side of the bank. "Living in the city, I mean. Or near one. I spent a lot of time at the Ministry of Science in Tokyo. Anyway, we didn't really have any horses. Plenty of flying cars, though!"

[a_cyclone]

"Oh wow, that's so cool!" Maxine said. "I've never been to Tokyo. Actually I've only been out of America a few times, but I guess I saw some amazing things, so I can't really complain. Was it nice, in Tokyo? Or I guess near, you said that." A beat, and then, "And flying cars, really? I was never sure if something like that would ever really come about, it'd take a lot of energy for something as innovative as that. That's really amazing!"