Keep My Ride Alive [BBS + Action]

[haha_steelguard]

Hey cadets and SeeDs alike -- anyone out there familiar with technology a bit more advanced than what we normally see? I've got a bike from back home here that might need some preventative maintenance soon.

-Snow


[If you're curious what he's talking about, well, if you're outside you might have a chance to see it later that evening. Having refrained from using it while Garden was in Dollet, Snow's making up for lost time on his hoverbike a bit more lately.]

[...Truth is, it reminds him of home, and of good things. Sort of like a promise, or a vow.]

[So as the sun heads for the horizon, the hoverbike in turn descends from the sky, with the tall Instructor mounted on it and a distant look on his face as he brings it to a halt not far from the entrance to the garage.]

Comments

[bbs]

[morphitudinous]

I have time to examine it tonight, if the new engineering instructor is acceptable to you?

-William Cranston

[bbs]

[haha_steelguard]

More than acceptable. The help would be great. The manadrive's still got plenty of juice, but wear and tear doesn't just stop when it has power.

[bbs/action]

[morphitudinous]

Wear and tear can easily be repaired. I'll see you soon.

[Some time later, Billy arrives outside Garden with his usual toolbox strapped to his back. He lifts a hand in greeting, giving the hoverbike a quick once-over.]

I've worked on hovering vehicles before, but never one of this particular design. But I'm sure the maintenance shouldn't be too difficult.

Are there any problem areas you want me to look at first?

/discovers this tag got lost :/

[haha_steelguard]

It's from my home world. A little gift from Time Compression, I guess.

[He pats the vehicle fondly.]

The manadrive should have plenty of power left, but the actual moving parts are what worry me. I've been driving it a lot without maintenance. Not exactly the safest thing.

[morphitudinous]

That's incredible. It'd be amazing if other vehicles came through, but that's beside the point.

[Billy circles it once, guessing at the general structure before he starts on any maintenance.]

So I'll concentrate on the gears and wires. I should have enough to replace anything that's worn, but I might need to build more complex replacement parts if I discover something big. It shouldn't be a problem.

Will you be staying?

[haha_steelguard]

I think Espio has one here too. It showed up around the same time as mine, if I remember correctly. Of course, that was a year or two ago.

I'd like to watch. Funny how you pay no attention to something ordinary, but when it becomes special or unique, you start to look at it twice even if hasn't changed. But I can keep myself busy if that'd bother you.

[morphitudinous]

Then I'll be on the lookout for more. I do miss my car.

Sure!

[Billy sets his toolbox down and gets to work, pulling back the cover with all the care he'd use around glass.]

It doesn't bother me. I know it's special to you, and you don't want my tinkering to hurt it. I'd feel the same about anything from home---you're so far away that reminders are few and far between, right?

[haha_steelguard]

[He crouches down, comfortable with holding that position for a while, to all appearances.]

No. Reminders are everywhere.

[That's quiet and suddenly somber.]

[worthyheir]

[There's very little that would get Damian to stop in his tracks and stare, but a flying motorcycle definitely qualifies. Not because he's stunned to see it, but because it reminds him of home.]

A gift from the Time Compression?

[haha_steelguard]

Yep. Showed up a couple months after I did. Luckily, manadrives don't really run out of power, or I'd have been out of gas long ago.

[worthyheir]

Manadrives?

...You must be from one of those worlds that already possessed magic like this. Was it more or less advanced?

[haha_steelguard]

It's a little more complicated. Manadrives aren't magic. They're basically scientific ways of faking magic. Sort of like paramagic, if it comes to that, but without the GFs getting involved.

On our world, the only people who could do magic were hated and feared.

[His smile is distinctly lopsided.]

[worthyheir]

That sounds stupid, but then again all cultures seem to either fear or worship that which they don't understand--and sometimes both.

[haha_steelguard]

It's less stupid if you think that the people who can do magic got that power from a being that told them to destroy the world, and the price of not doing so was to turn into a monster.

[worthyheir]

[Just sort of stares at that. Other worlds are ridiculous.]

What about the bike?

[haha_steelguard]

Technology. So that's okay. Made by people, not Pulse fal'Cie.

[Action]

[alwaysfaithful]

[Despite himself, Chris had a small smile on his face.]

That is one impressive bike.

[Action]

[haha_steelguard]

[Not that anyone needed to get on Snow's good side -- generally pretty much everyone is there barring some real nasty deeds -- but complimenting his bike is a great way to be cemented there!]

Thanks. I got lucky, it showed up one day a couple months after I'd been here.

[rebellingheart]

[Rinoa's outside, just generally taking a walk with her little menagerie of pets - two cats and a dog for anyone who's wondering - when Snow gets back.]

[Angelo is the first to react, bounding over to see the tall man who she's fairly confident gives some of the best ear scratches ever. Rinoa follows on her heels with the cats ambling over shortly thereafter.]

Had a lot to think about?

[haha_steelguard]

[It's true. Snow gives excellent ear scratches. Heroes always have a way with pets!]

Even from high up in the air, this world doesn't look anything like Cocoon.

[rebellingheart]

[Ahhhh, doggy heaven.]

I've never been to Cocoon and even I could have told you that.

Feeling a little homesick? [Not that she can relate exactly, but... that's not the point.]

[haha_steelguard]

You'd think from above it'd look the same, if you got high enough. Once buildings and roads and people all looked tiny below you. But Cocoon and here are too different, even from way up high.

[Having satisfied the puppy, he stands back up, fluid and strong.]

Not exactly. I miss the people, not the places.

[rebellingheart]

Cocoon sounds like a completely different world with completely different buildings and plants. So no matter how high you get, it'll never be the same.

Not to mention we have a sky. [Maybe if she teases him enough, he'll cheer up. She can hope.]

That's what homesick means, silly. Home's where the heart is, right? I don't know about you, but my heart's never really been attached to a place, but the people who live there.

[haha_steelguard]

Yeah, but most of the people I care about were here for some amount of time. So am I homesick if I don't want to go anywhere?

[He smiles a little, because he's nitpicking a little just for the sake of doing so.]

[rebellingheart]

Of course. Just because you're homesick doesn't mean you want to leave, it just means you miss your family and friends. That's all.

[Silly Snow, that train of logic doesn't work with Rinoa. Come on now.]