childofrebellion | Convention III-Yamato's practice flights

"How's it handling?"

Cassian wants to know if Yamato's feeling comfortable out there, this silence is unnerving from him.

"Hm?"

Yamato sounds like he barely heard what Cassian said. It takes him a moment to catch up, during which time the ship continues gracefully soaring along the route, swooping around obstacles as it goes.

"... Oh, right, it, er. It handles fine. Very smooth."

"Ready to test the speed?"

Yamato does seem pleased just not as focused as Cassian would like.

"Yeah. Activating the afterburners now, increasing thruster output from twenty to fifty percent."

The ship starts picking up speed a few moments later, dancing around a few of the obstacles as it does. It's not at full speed yet, but it's definitely going fast by any metric.

"Good start, the handling holding up?"

From a distance, it seems looser.

"Handling seems to be holding up all right. I still have pretty fine control over it," Yamato says, weaving around another obstacle.

"Give it a push and let's see what it can do."

He's feeling hopeful about doing well in this race.

"Activating afterburners for a second burn, raising thruster output to seventy-five percent, disengaging secondary stabilisers," Yamato rattles off, flicking his hands over the console.

The ship blasts forward, accelerating even more rapidly now, edging up on what should be its top speed. Yamato keeps weaving around whatever obstacles come up on the route.

"Handling's okay at this speed so far, but it's a little stiffer on turns," he notes. "Nothing I can't deal with."

"I might be able to help with that, do a little more adjusting to the stabilizers. They always need calibrating."

Usually because they can try to do too much controlling when they're not needed.

"If you could, I'd appreciate it. It's not the worst thing, but I'd like to get this ship at peak performance before the race," Yamato replies.

"I've dealt with it before. I'll make it right. You ready to leave atmo?"

That's the next big test.

Yamato feels a spike of something that could be panic or excitement in his chest.

"Yeah, just give me a few moments to check everything, and we can get started on that."

"Understood, the skies are clear above you,"

Cassian says as some reassurance.

"It's not the weather I'm worried about," Yamato says, with just a little bit of a chuckle.

Because sure, he technically went to space on the way here, but that was different. This feels much more real -- and it's something that only some five-hundred people from his world can say they've done.

"All right, I'm angling around for an exit trajectory now, de-activating the primary limiters and preparing to burn for atmo exit."

That chuckle's a good sign,

"I know, still true that you couldn't have a better night for this."

"Yes, we're all very happy that I'm not flying directly into a storm."

The ship curves up, before flying straight towards the upper atmosphere, picking up speed as it goes. Yamato keeps his eye on the altitude, getting ready to switch on the afterburners.

"Entering the stratosphere now," he says. "Ship seems to be holding up, but we'll see how it copes with entering the mesosphere."

"Understood, enjoy the view."

He remembers the first time he was flying and broke atmo.

"Approaching the mesosphere. I'm preparing to burn the afterburners," Yamato rattles off, as the ship gains height. At the point where breaking atmo becomes difficult, he gives a short burst on the afterburners to break through, continuing upwards.

He can start to see stars now, and the curvature of the planet beneath him. His reaction is muted, although it would probably be a lot more noticeable if Cassian could see his face.

It really is breathtaking. But in a way where he's not sure how to feel about it all just yet.

"How far do you want me to go?"

"You'll be up there for a fifth of the race course. Replicate that amount of time and more if you need it."

This is so that Yamato feels ready.

"Roger that."

Yamato keeps ascending, keeping an eye on how much time he's spending up there, eventually breaking into the thermosphere. So far the ship is holding up all right, but it's the way down that's going to be a problem.

"In the actual race, I'm going to have to descend pretty fast back into atmo," he says, "or risk losing time to some of the other competitors. Let's hope this ship actually holds up."

And since there's three laps around the course, that it can manage to do that three times in close succession.

"It should."

The way that this has become Yamato's focus worries Cassian. He knows that space travel isn't common in his world but building ships to survive re-entry is one of those pieces that has to be right.

Yamato would say that his concern over it is entirely warranted: Atmospheric entry is, after all, a process that strips meteorites down into pebbles, among other things that usually involve explosions or violent acceleration.

"All right, I think I've been up here long enough. Preparing for the trip back down now."

It is dangerous but in a new ship like Yamato's in, it shouldn't be a problem,

"I'll be following your progress."

"Thanks," Yamato says.

He lets the ship's own inertia turn it over, enough that he can activate the afterburners and go blasting down towards the surface, the force of gravity amplifying its acceleration as it drops.

He does not that the ship is holding up okay, even as it punches through the thermosphere and down into the mesosphere, the air ahead of it lighting up orange as its heated up by his rapid descent.

Yamato is fairly quiet on the line, but on the inside, he is definitely feeling almost overwhelmingly excited.

Cassian stays quiet, letting Yamato initiate communication again when he's feeling secure.

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