Convention with Yamato II

[childofrebellion]

A nice benefit of this hotel is they will bring caf up to their room in the morning along with breakfast to give them some privacy in the mornings.

Cassian has pulled up the itinerary of the day, "Part of our entry allows access to the hangar with the ships and that's up for today. So you can properly look into the engines."

Comments

[childofrebellion]

"I think I can work on the stabilizers to make the handling easier to control and might be able to get some extra speed from it."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"We could definitely use all the speed we can get," Yamato says, agreeably. "As far as the handling goes, maybe make it just a little bit more stable. If I'm going to be ducking around obstacles, I need it to still be pretty sensitive."

[childofrebellion]

"I know how to make small adjustments and you can test it out too."

Being a pilot who knows ships is part of what's helped Cassian get out of some tight spots.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"... I can, yeah," Yamato says, a little uncertainly.

He pauses for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table, then takes a slightly nervous sip of coffee.

"Taking this ship out for a test run is going to be the first time I've actually flown. Outside a sim, I mean," he says, a little awkwardly. "I've been using the sims back home and you-know-where for a decade now, so I guess I'm ready, it's just, er. A big step."

[childofrebellion]

"Oh, I didn't know that but you're ready. We can also do the test when the hangar's quieter."

Cassian had thought someone must have taken Yamato up since he started practicing.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Well, now you do," Yamato says, just a touch awkwardly. "Back home, I've been eking out whatever time I could get on Yokota Base's sims, but they -- don't usually even let people do that. And they don't let you get into an actual fighter unless you're part of the air force."

That is to say, he could (and did) leverage Grandfather Michel's friendship with the base commander enough to be allowed to use the sims during maintenance hours, but unless and until he actually gets into fighter pilot training, there's no way anyone's letting him in an actual craft. Yamato's fairly sure that'd be illegal.

"Hence, you know." Yamato's already mentioned to Cassian that he applied to enter fast-track fighter pilot training a while back.

[childofrebellion]

"Then this will be good for you and also we can see about what's possible in Milliways. I started my flight training in actual ships around your age."

This is something that Cassian can do and he's seen how good Yamato is in the sim.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"You did, huh? Guess that means I'm right on the curve, at least as far as this world goes. That's a relief."

[childofrebellion]

"Yes, a pilot named Aldric taught me. I think you are."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"What was he like? Aldric, I mean. And -- what's he doing now?"

Also, is he still alive.

Yamato is personally betting on 'no,' but he'd love to be proven wrong.

[childofrebellion]

"Patient, he had been a Republic pilot, not a clone but he'd flown with them. He died on a rescue mission that went wrong out near Kashyyk."

Cassian looks out to all the pilots around them, his gaze elsewhere, flying with Aldric were the simpler lessons.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Yeah, I was expecting you'd say that," Yamato remarks, with a quick, sad smile.

Not so much the specifics of it being a rescue mission gone wrong, but he was expecting this Aldric to be dead, at least.

[childofrebellion]

"Being a pilot's dangerous,"

Doing anything in the Rebellion's a fast way to die.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Yeah, I know. Even in my world, it's pretty far away from a safe job."

Not as dangerous as being a sanitation worker, but then, nothing is.

[childofrebellion]

"I don't think its ever been one but its one with some freedom to it."

That's why Cassian wanted to fly, to control where he went.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I guess so," Yamato agrees. "Or -- maybe I'm just an adrenaline junkie and like the idea of strapping myself into twenty tonnes of thin, breakable metal and flying around at supersonic speeds."

[childofrebellion]

Cassian nods with a small smile, "Yes, the first time you leave atmo is hard to beat."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato laughs a little. "Well, it's not exactly likely I'll ever do that in my world. Becoming an astronaut is even more difficult than becoming a fighter pilot."

[childofrebellion]

"Oh, I hope you can get a chance to,"

Yamato's determined at getting what he wants and a good pilot.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato laughs a little, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm not even sure that going to space is where I want to go with my career. But it's not like I have to decide now, anyway -- you need to be a pilot for a solid decade before they even consider you, and it's not like I've even heard back about my application for that yet."

Although that much is not unusual. He only sent it off in the Spring, after all, it'd be too soon to have heard anything yet.

[childofrebellion]

"Then you can use here to prepare and show off how much you know. We should head back."

Cassian has a lot of trust in Yamato's ability and his ability to learn.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I guess we should, before Pan gets roughed up again by more goons," Yamato says ruefully, downing the rest of his caf.

[childofrebellion]

"Don't invite trouble, we have enough."

Cassian says as he gets up with a sigh.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Fair point," Yamato laughs, standing up as well. "I'm sure the guy will be fine. Probably giving someone a scintillating sales pitch about cladding as we speak."

[childofrebellion]

"I hope so, that would be a fairly safe place for him to be."

Cassian can hope that Pan won't find more trouble but he's not too optimistic.