TEAM STAY-AT-HOME: PART 1: GLIDER PARTY

[personalityquarks]

The day after the main body of the expedition leaves, those who have elected to stay behind will find a message over the network -

Okay, guys, now that the expedition team's gone, we've got a surprise for everyone that we've been working on for a while, and we're ready to test some prototypes. If you're not scared of heights, come down to the hangar cavern under the Annex.

Prototypes of what? Well, better head down to the hangar and find out!

Inside, there's actually something set up within the previously empty cavern - a series of what look to be hang-gliders, six in total, each with different-colored sails and what seems to be an engine in the middle of the "back." They're fairly small for what they are, probably designed to carry only a single person, but what's most interesting about them is that they do not rest on the ground - instead, they hover about a foot off it, resting on a cushion of magically generated breeze.

Careful further inspection will reveal that the wide arms have a mechanism that collapses them down - in fact, the whole glider collapses down, to what would be the size of a very large backpack or so. At the far end of the line, Charm is repeatedly doing so with the final glider, a red one with a pattern of orange "gashes" in the wings and tail. Even at that size, they hover about a foot off the ground unless moved - and they weigh very little at all and are no difficulty to carry, in spite of all the metal that goes into them.

The secret is in the magitek engine on the back - glowing faintly green in the dim light of the cavern, they're heavy with wind energy for those who can sense that sort of thing. In addition to the basic levitation function, the steering bars of the gliders have an accelerator and brake hooked to the engine. There's also a sling for a person's torso (or... a less person-shaped person's whatever) and a set of foot supports.

When characters arrive, they'll find Top greeting them at the nearest glider to the door, a bit covered in grease but looking enthused.

[[OOC: This part of the Stay-At-Home event is a mingle for Glider Shenananigans! Fly 'em, fold 'em, stick 'em in a stew, whatever you want. Just, you know, try to avoid crashing them, and don't ruin the surprise by flying out over the reef, hmm?

And yes, it counts for points!]]

Comments

[superstylishsquid]

[Scared of heights is about the last thing a storm demon is going to be, so Alastor meanders down after he sees the message. He definitely senses the wind magic on his way down, and seeing what's waiting for him earns a chuckle.]

Magic hang gliders, huh?

[personalityquarks]

Well, we're going to need some way to transport everyone...

[Top's smiling, but thoughtfully.]

We've stabilized a lot of the more local Fissures, so if we're going to keep going, it has to be with some way to get there.

[superstylishsquid]

Makes sense...it took a couple trips to get everyone back last time, and that's just not gonna work with longer distances. I don't need one...

[He stretches his wings out.]

But it might be fun to give it a whirl, anyway.

[personalityquarks]

Probably not everyone will want to use them anyway, but it'll still help. Plus, I think people are going to have fun with them.

[Fun is important, right? Fun is definitely important.]

[photoshooter]

Ohhh. Em. Gee! Top, these are amazing!

[Rather than rush to put one on, Prompto immediately starts looking it over, trying to suss out how it works with his admittedly amateur-hobbyist understanding. Still, he's enthusiastic as hell, and Sunshine, who definitely understands way less, is just as excited at his heels.]

How much can they carry? Who's tried them so far?

[personalityquarks]

This is pretty much the first test - we dragged in a little help to get the engines going, but this is the first time anything's been done outside of the theory and a few paper airplanes.

[Top seems pretty much just as excited, really, though it's more low-key than Prompto's.]

A couple hundred pounds, at least? We haven't tested the engines to failure, but they can lift one of us no problem - we hooked them to the bottoms of a couple chairs and whizzed around a bit.

[photoshooter]

Oh, man, I am way less than that. Will you look after Sunshine if I try it out?

[personalityquarks]

Of course! She'll be perfectly safe with me, right, Sunny?

[Like android friend hasn't spoiled her with pettings when Prompto's in the lab already...]

[anarchia]

[Whilst he wasn't afraid of heights, Carnivac had no particular fondness for them either. Still, the request was vague enough to pique his interest, so he heads down to the hangar out of curiosity more than anything.

For once, he's not in his wolf form. With less people around the station, there's no real need to keep small and out of the way. Besides, he could do with stretching his actual legs.

When he sees the gliders, there's a small amusement in his face.]

These are the prototypes we're testing? That's going to be interesting.

[Here's hoping there'll be minimal crashes.]

[personalityquarks]

Yeah. It's better to work on them in a live test - there's only so much we can do with theory, you know?

[anarchia]

What's the weight limit like on them?

[It's not too much of a leap to consider that they probably designed them for residents lighter than himself.]

[personalityquarks]

We haven't tested it to max, yet, but they'll hold one of us fine.

[Which given that these androids are 6'6 metal people, y'know, probably a decent bet that you're safe?]

[newlawtolight]

What an interesting contraption. May I?

[She really does seem like she wants to try it out.]

[personalityquarks]

I mean, that's what they're here for.

[Charm rubs the back of his head in a gesture he must have picked up somewhere.]

Maybe zoom it around the floor before you take it out, but otherwise, have fun.

[newlawtolight]

Oh, absolutely. I would love to see what these do.

[So she does do some zooming, but she still talks.]

Might I ask, how exactly do these items work?

[personalityquarks]

They're mostly magitek engines with some runes on the underside to help the sails get lift - you should be able to grab hold of the handles and pull up to get it to go higher.

[bulletnews]

Well, this looks exciting.

[She can feel the energy coming off of these, and it's good.]

I may be a natural, but if I'm going to write about these I'd better give one a test run.

[personalityquarks]

[Charm grins.]

Look at it this way - if something goes wrong, you're not going to fall, right?

[bulletnews]

Not a chance of that, no.

[She'll probably even be able to keep the glider intact, provided it doesn't explode.]

[letsplayer]

[ Marla moves to a hang glider with baby blue sails and has a fairly blanked-out expression. ]

...I've never done this before.

[personalityquarks]

[Local friendly android here with an assist!]

Do you need help getting loaded up?

[letsplayer]

Yeah, kinda.

[ She laughs awkwardly enough to show that she's got some amount of embarrassment. ]

PART 2 - closed to Aya + Alastor

[personalityquarks]

[It's getting to be pretty late, and the rest of the group has already headed up to the Station for the night. Top and Charm are folding up the rest of the gliders and setting them aside, chatting casually as they do, when, very suddenly, they both go still.

And if it were possible for the androids to go pale, they probably would have.

Then, very suddenly, Charm unfreezes and says loudly - ]

No, Up, it's their business too. They should see this.

[There's another pause, and then Top sighs, nodding agreement, before Charm, with a far less casual air than he usually has, comes over to the pair still hanging out in the hangar.]

Hey, can I borrow you guys for a minute? There's something you should see.

[bulletnews]

[Aya chooses not to read this mood.]

Oh? In that case, I need to see it. Don't hold back, now.

[superstylishsquid]

[Alastor, having landed not too long ago and still in human form, is fiddling with the Tamagotchi he'd agreed to babysit for one of the expedition goers who didn't want to risk it getting wet. It gives one last chirp as he puts it to bed for the night, before he pockets it and looks up.]

...Why do I have an ominous feeling about this?