“I did lie about one minor detail,” Shirley called back over her shoulder as she led the trio into a hanger on the far side of the spaceport. “I mean, this place actually has decent lighting.” Waving a hand, she indicated a small group of men and woman unloading equipment from the back of a clearly Fen truck. “Anyhow, I got some friends for ya to meet. Hey guys... Guys?”
Her smile faltered slightly as everyone in front of her kept working, seemingly having failed to notice her return. After a few more seconds, her smile vanished completely, replaced by a frown. Next to her, Chris tried not to laugh as the bunnygirls expression continued to sour. Eventually, growing impatient, she fired off an ear-piercing whistle that caused several people to jump in surprise (And made Chris wince and give her an irritated glare). “Hey, hello!”
“Christ Shirley,” Chris grumbled, rubbing at his ear.
Dropping a cardboard box on a table, a Vulcan in a custom Starfleet uniform gave Shirley an irritated look. “Ah, Miss Yeager, welcome back. You’ll be happy to know that we are just about finished unloading,” he noted dryly, then raised one eyebrow. “You have convenient timing.”
Blushing slightly, Shirley ran a hand through her hair. “ Yeah, sorry ‘bout that Joe. But I come bearing good news!” she offered. “And a friend. Everyone, this is Chris.” Slapping him on the back, she smiled widely. “I worked with him back in the day, and I know he’s good for what we need. The droid is Teeseven-Oh-One, and the little AI hologram with him calls herself Kitbash. Chris, Tee, kid, these guys are the rest of Project Miyafuji, little something we’ve been working on for, what, nearly a year now.”
Giving the gathered people a half wave, half salute, and getting similar greetings in return, Chris took a moment to consider what Shirley had just said. It didn’t take long for understanding to dawn, and he turned to give her a thoughtful look. “I do remember your biomod’s source material,” he pointed out, drawing a laugh from several of the group, Shirley included.
“Source material…? Google time,” Kitbash said, looking confused. Her avatar flickered for a moment as she directed her awareness elsewhere, and when it stabilised, her expression was much more amused. “Ohhh, so that’s why you’re not wearing pants. I was wondering about that,” she admitted.
One or two of the Project Miyafuji team looked mildly embarrassed, and Chris looked like he was trying not to facepalm. For her part, Shirley threw pack her head and laughed, delighted. “And you were still too polite to ask!”
T7 commented dryly.
Still snickering, the bunnygirl led the Void Eagles crew around several of her teammates, revealing two items on a modified work bench that were somewhat familiar to the Captain. “Well, going by Strike Witches is the right idea,” she commented. “You might have seen these before.”
“Never a physical one in person,” he replied, stepping over for a closer look. Two hollow cylinders, each slightly over a meter long, one wing mounted on each one. Panels currently open on the side of one showing an intricate, complex engine. At the far end, propeller blades in a slightly unconventional shape, made from a material he couldn’t identify. Some sort of crystal?
It certainly resembled the magically-powered ‘aeroplane pants’ from the Strike Witches anime, although there was still something about it that made Chris stop and take a second look. After a moment, he frowned. In the source material, the Striker units were the local counterparts of WWII fighter planes, and they all clearly looked the part. The Striker here in front of him did not. It was unpainted, with no details that really reminded Chris of any specific plane. The air intakes and control surfaces were surprisingly complex. And Shirley had said they’d been working on this for nearly a year?
Carefully, he turned to look at his friend, who was waiting patiently, clearly knowing what he was about to ask. “Shirley, just how much Handwavium is in this?” he asked.
“None at all,” she replied in a tone of profound satisfaction. “If I wanted a ‘waved Striker, I could make it over the weekend. Done it before, will do it again. This,” she declared, raising her hands, “is pure hardtech.”
Joe picked up the explanation, grinning as he took in the other man's mildly stunned expression. “It certainly wasn’t easy, I have to admit. Some elements of the design are taken from various technologies in the Catalog, other parts from general tech advancements the Fenspace age has made possible.”
Over by the truck, a dark-skinned woman smirked. “Lots of test models, wind tunnel runs… A few AIs over on Venus got interested in the concept, offered us some simulator time. It might sound crazy, but we think we’ve got it to work.” She shrugged slightly. “‘Course, today’s the real test, isn’t it?”
“How so?” Kitbash asked, giving the Striker a skeptical look.
“First physical test flight,” Shirley answered. “I’ve been training in Wave Strikers whenever I had the time, mostly to help work out just how this one’s gonna even steer, but we wanted to be damn sure we had this thing built right before I even thought about taking it up.” Patting the left Striker gently, she gave the tiny hologram girl a weak smile. “Pure hardtech can have a hell of a kick to it.”
“That’s… one way of phrasing it,” Chris mused, scratching at his chin thoughtfully. “You said you had a need for me?” he asked.
Turning back towards the cardboard box, Joe started unpacking assorted tools and setting them out on the table. “As much as I’m sure Shirley would love the thrill of taking the Striker up all alone, with nothing but her skill and luck to keep her alive if something went wrong-” Reluctantly, the bunnygirl nodded, conceding the point, “some of us are a little more protective of our project. And her, to a lesser extent,” he added a moment later.
Giving the Vulcan a glare, and ignoring the chuckles passing around the rest of the group, Shirley took over the explanation. “Two chase fliers, keeping pace with me, just in case something goes wrong. We’ve got a pair of ‘waved jetpacks for that. Sally’s flying one,” she said, nodding at the blonde cyborg girl in the group, who gave a shy little wave. “The other one should be handled by Johnny, but he’s not here today,” she grumbled.
“Be fair Shirl,” the dark-skinned woman said. “It’s really not his fault.” Chris gave her a curious look and she shrugged. “Stuck in the Belt when his flight hit trouble.”
“Ah. Hate when that happens.” He waited a moment, looking at Shirley thoughtfully, then smiled. “My pack’s in Bendigo though, so I’m hoping Johnny wasn’t bringing his with him?”
Walking over to the truck, Shirley reached into the back and dragged out what looked like a small jet turbine and straps. “I think we’re good.”
Her smile faltered slightly as everyone in front of her kept working, seemingly having failed to notice her return. After a few more seconds, her smile vanished completely, replaced by a frown. Next to her, Chris tried not to laugh as the bunnygirls expression continued to sour. Eventually, growing impatient, she fired off an ear-piercing whistle that caused several people to jump in surprise (And made Chris wince and give her an irritated glare). “Hey, hello!”
“Christ Shirley,” Chris grumbled, rubbing at his ear.
Dropping a cardboard box on a table, a Vulcan in a custom Starfleet uniform gave Shirley an irritated look. “Ah, Miss Yeager, welcome back. You’ll be happy to know that we are just about finished unloading,” he noted dryly, then raised one eyebrow. “You have convenient timing.”
Blushing slightly, Shirley ran a hand through her hair. “ Yeah, sorry ‘bout that Joe. But I come bearing good news!” she offered. “And a friend. Everyone, this is Chris.” Slapping him on the back, she smiled widely. “I worked with him back in the day, and I know he’s good for what we need. The droid is Teeseven-Oh-One, and the little AI hologram with him calls herself Kitbash. Chris, Tee, kid, these guys are the rest of Project Miyafuji, little something we’ve been working on for, what, nearly a year now.”
Giving the gathered people a half wave, half salute, and getting similar greetings in return, Chris took a moment to consider what Shirley had just said. It didn’t take long for understanding to dawn, and he turned to give her a thoughtful look. “I do remember your biomod’s source material,” he pointed out, drawing a laugh from several of the group, Shirley included.
“Source material…? Google time,” Kitbash said, looking confused. Her avatar flickered for a moment as she directed her awareness elsewhere, and when it stabilised, her expression was much more amused. “Ohhh, so that’s why you’re not wearing pants. I was wondering about that,” she admitted.
One or two of the Project Miyafuji team looked mildly embarrassed, and Chris looked like he was trying not to facepalm. For her part, Shirley threw pack her head and laughed, delighted. “And you were still too polite to ask!”
T7 commented dryly.
Still snickering, the bunnygirl led the Void Eagles crew around several of her teammates, revealing two items on a modified work bench that were somewhat familiar to the Captain. “Well, going by Strike Witches is the right idea,” she commented. “You might have seen these before.”
“Never a physical one in person,” he replied, stepping over for a closer look. Two hollow cylinders, each slightly over a meter long, one wing mounted on each one. Panels currently open on the side of one showing an intricate, complex engine. At the far end, propeller blades in a slightly unconventional shape, made from a material he couldn’t identify. Some sort of crystal?
It certainly resembled the magically-powered ‘aeroplane pants’ from the Strike Witches anime, although there was still something about it that made Chris stop and take a second look. After a moment, he frowned. In the source material, the Striker units were the local counterparts of WWII fighter planes, and they all clearly looked the part. The Striker here in front of him did not. It was unpainted, with no details that really reminded Chris of any specific plane. The air intakes and control surfaces were surprisingly complex. And Shirley had said they’d been working on this for nearly a year?
Carefully, he turned to look at his friend, who was waiting patiently, clearly knowing what he was about to ask. “Shirley, just how much Handwavium is in this?” he asked.
“None at all,” she replied in a tone of profound satisfaction. “If I wanted a ‘waved Striker, I could make it over the weekend. Done it before, will do it again. This,” she declared, raising her hands, “is pure hardtech.”
Joe picked up the explanation, grinning as he took in the other man's mildly stunned expression. “It certainly wasn’t easy, I have to admit. Some elements of the design are taken from various technologies in the Catalog, other parts from general tech advancements the Fenspace age has made possible.”
Over by the truck, a dark-skinned woman smirked. “Lots of test models, wind tunnel runs… A few AIs over on Venus got interested in the concept, offered us some simulator time. It might sound crazy, but we think we’ve got it to work.” She shrugged slightly. “‘Course, today’s the real test, isn’t it?”
“How so?” Kitbash asked, giving the Striker a skeptical look.
“First physical test flight,” Shirley answered. “I’ve been training in Wave Strikers whenever I had the time, mostly to help work out just how this one’s gonna even steer, but we wanted to be damn sure we had this thing built right before I even thought about taking it up.” Patting the left Striker gently, she gave the tiny hologram girl a weak smile. “Pure hardtech can have a hell of a kick to it.”
“That’s… one way of phrasing it,” Chris mused, scratching at his chin thoughtfully. “You said you had a need for me?” he asked.
Turning back towards the cardboard box, Joe started unpacking assorted tools and setting them out on the table. “As much as I’m sure Shirley would love the thrill of taking the Striker up all alone, with nothing but her skill and luck to keep her alive if something went wrong-” Reluctantly, the bunnygirl nodded, conceding the point, “some of us are a little more protective of our project. And her, to a lesser extent,” he added a moment later.
Giving the Vulcan a glare, and ignoring the chuckles passing around the rest of the group, Shirley took over the explanation. “Two chase fliers, keeping pace with me, just in case something goes wrong. We’ve got a pair of ‘waved jetpacks for that. Sally’s flying one,” she said, nodding at the blonde cyborg girl in the group, who gave a shy little wave. “The other one should be handled by Johnny, but he’s not here today,” she grumbled.
“Be fair Shirl,” the dark-skinned woman said. “It’s really not his fault.” Chris gave her a curious look and she shrugged. “Stuck in the Belt when his flight hit trouble.”
“Ah. Hate when that happens.” He waited a moment, looking at Shirley thoughtfully, then smiled. “My pack’s in Bendigo though, so I’m hoping Johnny wasn’t bringing his with him?”
Walking over to the truck, Shirley reached into the back and dragged out what looked like a small jet turbine and straps. “I think we’re good.”