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[short, RFC] Shortcut To Japan
[short, RFC] Shortcut To Japan
#1
This is something that I've wanted to do for a while now, and the particular urge hits me whenever I hear that one song by Gwen Stefani...



Benjamin sighed as
they entered LEO. They were inbound to pick up a new recruit for the newly-founded Roughriders - Yet another young lady to fill out their pilot ranks. Not that
Ben minded - women did tend to make for better pilots, but all the same it was going to be troublesome.

The Magnificent
Midnight
was a
performer, pure and simple. The engines ran like thouroughbred champions and the harder you pushed them the more they asked for. It was almost as if the
Blackbird wantedto
break the Limit.

Ben had his iPod on him, a recent acquisition. It was a classic style, one that he had waved for increased storage and sound quality. He also had a
splitter attached to the headphones jack. One end was connected to the headphones. The other was connected to the auxillery audio input. Ben had just recently
discovered that the ship seems to respond to some songs better than others.

Of course, he'd forgotten about this fact when he decided he wanted to listen to some music.

At first, with the piano and vocal intro, nothing happened. And then the backbeat kicked in hard and so did
Midnight's main engines.

"Holy SHIT!" bit off Ben as the G-forces slammed into him.

"WTF!?" cried out Gina from her station behind him. "You dumkopf! Did you forget the iPod?"

"Yeah! Song reaction!" Benjamin confirmed, as he tried to unplug the iPod from the input, but for whatever reason it would not come free.
"It's jammed! She's not letting go of it!"

"Shiest!" snarled Gina. "Checking navigation." In her station, Gina's fingers flew over the keyboard as she
pulled up the navigational charts in use. What she saw surprised her - Midnight's had a complete course laid out for landfall at Narita Airport, Japan. "She's somehow got it in her head that we're
going to Japan!"

Ben blinked at that as Midnightbegan
a full-power dive into the soup. That didn't worry him, though, as he'd waved her hull with that in mind. It was because he just realized the affect of
the song.

"It's the song! Gwen Stefani LOVES Japan, so that's where Midnightis going! Get us an emergency clearance from Tokyo ATC! We're gonna be coming in
hot!"

"Already on it!" Gina called back. Ben happened to look at one of the side displays he installed, one
that Midnightfavored to use for her avatar, a cute little Red Winged
Blackbird, and he had to suppress a snort - the little bird on the screen was, for all intents and purposes, dancing; scooting and flitting across the screen
with tail feathers twitching up and down in time with the music.

In what must have been a record time for re-entry, they passed through the ionization field and were still ticking off about Mach 12 as they shot over Papa
New Guinea. Right there, they began to make a large, banking spiraling turn that would let them shed speed and bring them right into Tokyo
airspace.

Meanwhile in Japan, ATC was in a tizzy trying to get the airspace around Narita prepared for something the airstrip was never really intended to handle - a
hot, space-capable Blackbird. Fire and Rescue trucks were dispatched to a hot standby. All air traffice was diverted to a high-altitude holding pattern. And an
army of space and Blackbird (or Habu as it is known in Japan) fans had gathered outside the airport. One of the ATCs, a fan of things like this himself, had
leaked it through Twitter and things snowballed from there.

Just then, Japan came into veiw. Midnightwas
an excellent navigator - they were lined up perfectly for their first appraoch to Narita. Midnightpolitely dropped to just under super-sonic as she hit the first apprach loop, letting air friction leach off more and
more speed.

Two more loops came and went, but they were still going disgustingly fast... for a commercial airliner. Ben noted that this was normal
for a Blackbird. Everything about Blackbirds screamed SPEED in giant, neon-lit letters, and Midnightupheld the tradition well.

They lined up with the Runway for their final and Midnightdropped the landing gear. Speed began to drop off precipitously and so did their altitude. Landing was the tricky part in a Blackbird;
like in NASA's space shuttle, you were in a flying brick.

Midnightmanaged just fine, though, and touched down on the tarmak, deploying her safety-orange drogue-chute. Reverse thrust was applied - this
was a new sight for a Blackbird, as excited ions blasted out around the difuser cones over the 'intakes' and curled back and around the engine
cowls.

With that extra braking power, Midnightsoon
brought the engines down to an idle and guided herself to a convenient slip where she cut her engines entirely and rolled to a
stop.

"... Well now, that was interesting," said Gina.

Ben allowed himself to snort at that. "You thought that was bad? The shit-storm hasn't even hit yet." He then pointed out the window where
the emergency services vehicles were approaching... followed closely by a small army of Japanese fans.

Gina took the sight in for a moment. "Mein Gott! What the hell am I gonna do?"

"What you always do when we gotta deal with my fangirl following. Cling to my regular arm like I'm YOUR plaything, NO ONE elses, and they'd
better remember it. Don't worry, I'll have my big arm ready incase anyone tries anything, but I don't think it will be that
bad."

Ben then triggered the cockpit canopy hydraulics and allowed the relatively fresh outside air in. Already someone was putting accomodation ladders in
place, and a Japanese man in a business suit was carefully making his way up to meet Ben.

"Ah! Ro-des'-san!" he called out as he finally closed the distance to the cockpit coaming. "As a duely appointed representative of the
Prime Minister, please allow me to be the first to welcome you here to Japan." The representative then bowed formally.

Benjamin stepped out, followed by Gina from her cockpit on her own ladder, and, dredging up his knowledge of Japanese customs, Ben returned the bow, making
sure that it was just as low as the representative's.

"Arigatou," Ben replied. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

The representative brushed it off. "It is no problem. It's good to get things shaken up now and then, if only to see how effective our measures
are. Besides..." The representative then cast a look around the growing, milling crowd that was being kept in careful check by police. "...It seems
you are more than welcome to our beautiful country."

Suddenly there was a chirping sound from the cockpit and Ben looked down at the side monitor. There was
Midnight's avatar and she was making curious sounding strands of bird
song.

Ben laughed. "Sorry girl, you wanted to come to Japan so badly, we're gonna be stuck here for at least a day or two now."

"One thing is for certain," said Gina over the growing din from the crowd. "Gwen Stefani songs are going on the restricted
list."

Ben scoffed. "At least until we're ready for another visit."
Reply
 
#2
TO: benjamin@roughriders.org

FROM: blackstone@banzai-institute.org

RE: Collision Alerts Over Oceania

Ben,

You might want to watch the throttle on those Blackbirds; I understand it can be a bit twitchy. [Image: banana-dance.gif] We got a call from Sir Paulius and Sir Michael this morning. Could you
send them a note, apologizing for sending their Air Force into conniptions?I'm sure they'll laugh it off; Brigadier General Ilau probably won't,
but he's paid to be a humorless old grump anyway.

Enjoy your visit. Swing by the Institute office if you get the chance; Buckaroo wanted to ask you to take a look at one of our new Armory designs. Tico's
been expressing interest in some speed trials, and the Midnight does set something of a benchmark.

See you in the funny papers,

Blackstone

Blue Blazer Irregular #14

Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information

"Speed provides the one genuinely modern pleasure." - Aldous Huxley
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
Reply
 
#3
TO: benjamin@roughriders.org

FROM: mamabear@stellvia.lib

RE: Collision Alerts Over Oceania

Ben, are you and Gina okay down there? Say the word and I'll come soothe any ruffled feathers - my Japanese passport is still good. And while I know Gina
speaks Japanese, sometimes an approach that's... other than her usual one... comes in handy when speaking with bureaucrats.

I'm sure Midnight is fine. But if she's been impounded and you need a loan to pay the fine, all you need to do is ask. (Me, not Noah.)

Yayoi
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#4
TO:

FROM: [url=mailto:redrider@roughriders.org


RE: Collision Alerts Over Oceania

Hey, Blackstone! Nice to hear from you. I'm handling all of Ben's email while we're here in Tokyo. Fortunately, AC foresaw the need of having
standard WiFi built into my trancievers as well. It's not as good as Etherwave, but it gets the job done.

As for the throttle, Ben says, "This thing has a throttle?" Wink

Sorry that you had to hear from Messirs Paulius and Micheal. I already bombed out a nicely official sounding apology letter to the Right Honorable Chiefs. No
word from them yet, but I suspect they'll laugh it off like you said.

So far, Ben and I are having fun. We got to meet none other than Hayao Miyazaki, one of the few people in the anime industry that I can honestly respect.
Being a fan of unusual aircraft, he just had to see the Midnight. Fortunately, the two have hit it off pretty well. I suspect there may be one last
Miyazaki action flick yet to come, despite what he has said about Mononoke Hime.

And Ben says that he'll be more than happy to help Tico out with speed trials (you don't even need to ask Midnight) and he's also eager to
see what you and Buckaroo have cooked up this time. If he likes it enough, he may even ask about adding it to our own armory. Magic M-16's not
withstanding, Ben feels the local Sammies need something with a little more spice.

We'll probably catch you on our outbound run, so keep the light on for us.

-Gina



TO:

FROM: [url=mailto:redrider@roughriders.org


RE: Collision Alerts Over Oceania

Hi Yayoi!

Thanks for caring. [Image: banana-dance.gif] Benjamin and I are just fine. Its just like what it looks on the news and Benjamin and I are being treated as diplomats. Weird, huh?

Oh, Ben's relagated the email to me partialy because of all the fan-mail we've been getting. It's not bad yet, but if it doesn't stop soon
after we leave, something drastic might happen.

So far, the reception has been pretty warm. There were some outcries from the Diet, and to placate them a modest fine was levied. Ben just smiled and hit
them back by selling exclusive rights for an interview and up-close photos, then using the money to not only pay for the fine, but use the rest make a donation
to the fund for the space port they've been trying to plan here. (It's been getting a lot of resistance from the hard-liners in the Diet lately.)

So there's no real need for you to drop by, unless you and some of the other girls up there want to do a photo-op with the Midnight and me. How much you
wanna bet we make off that one? Big Grin

-Gina
Reply
 
#5
TO: redrider@roughriders.org

FROM: madfox@VFPuppetworks.co.luna

RE: Token of Appreciation

You are my favorite people now, you guys realize that?

I'd already LIKED Gina, but you guys had to go and give Miyazaki-sensei my contact info.

Let me just say, "Wow." And you guys get a project of your choice at cost... just keep it roughly human-sized?

Recently commissioned for a Miyazaki Museum display,

Eljay

--- Vulpine Fury's Puppetworks ---

Bleeding Edge 'Wavium Animatronics since 2011

2004 Atlas Park Drive, Kandor City, Luna
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
Reply
 
#6
TO:

FROM: [url=mailto:redrider@roughriders.org


RE: Token of Appreciation

Heya Eljay! Just so you know, Ben's sitting over here in a cafe at Showa Park grinning and cackling like a loon now. Thanks for feeding his ego, now it
will take me forever to hack that thing down to size. Wink

BTW: You're welcome. Benjamin's oddly thoughtful that way. He says it keeps the good karma flowing. Given your reaction, I'd say it works.
Don't be surprised if we don't take you up on that offer for a while, though. One of the new officers we just commisioned is a Rei Ayanami clone. One
hundred and one of them to be exact. Don't ask me how it happened, you know how the 'Wave is, but Jessica Ayanami, much to my relief, is a pretty
normal person for having a small army of clones to do her bidding and she's just taken care of the worst of our staffing problems.

Good luck on the museum display. I can hardly wait to see it! Big Grin

-Gina
Reply
 
#7
TO: redrider@roughriders.org

FROM: mamabear@stellvia.lib

RE: Collision Alerts Over Oceania

Hi, Gina!

I have to come Downside tomorrow anyway - Noah wants a big monitor for Ops so we can run traffic control better (or, more likely, watch movies), and
Mitsubishi's got a 140" with our name on it. We'll have a few hours while the Mitsubishi techs load the monitor into our cargo bay and settle down
in our lounge for the return trip. (My earlier offer was for me to stay longer than that. Noah wouldn't have minded much. I think.) I've already talked
with Narita ATC, and they're saving the pad next to you for the 'Blade. So don't leave before Kohran and I get there, okay?

And if Ben could pick up a couple of cases of blueberry Pocky for us, Noah'll be happy..

Yayoi
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#8
To: redrider@roughriders.org

From: visionaire@prometheus_forge.fen

Subject: Having fun down there?

Hi Gina.

Since you're answering email, I guess that A.C.'s insistence on multiple communication standards paid off then? Wink Admittedly her stubbornness can be a
handful at times...

We've been busy out here in the Forge, so we've only just got round to clearing our emails. Of course, A.C.'s currently busy denying the Tachikomas
reasons to visit Japan so I'm writing this.

I know this is going to sound nasty, but have either you or Ben considered a cut out switch for Midnight? Just so things like this don't happen? At least
consider a sandbox for her, so you can play songs at her as see what happens. I'll even help with that.

Lebia
Reply
 
#9
TO: mamabear@stellvia.lib

FROM: redrider@roughriders.org

RE: Collision Alerts Over Oceania

Only you and Kohran?

Oh well, I guess that's the most that Noah could spare at this time. Nice job on getting the slip next to us reserved, though! Just for that, Ben says he
isn't just getting you guys a few cases. Can you fit a standard-sized pallet in there? Wink

-Gina



TO: visionaire@prometheus_forge.fen

FROM: redrider@roughriders.org

RE: Having fun down there?

Hey Lebia!

Yeah, AC is a handful and a half. I'm still surprised about how he... she... came on to me so much during the development.

Enough thinking about perverted nonsense, though.

First, I'm kind of surprised that you don't let the Tachikoma's come on down here. They'd be a huge hit and us Fen need as much good press as
possible. I'm pretty sure they won't cause that much trouble as long as they're supervised.

As for Midnight... Benjamin and I are both a bit weirded out by the idea of a cutout switch. We think of Midnight more as a person than as a
ship with an AI. (It's kinda hard not to once you get to know her.)

But a Sandbox we can do. We'll go ahead and hash out the details once we get back to Atalante. At least there I'll have Jess and Ruri's help.

Oh! You don't know Ruri yet, do you? Ben just awakened her a bit ago. She's our new Operations AI and she's bassed off of the character from
Nadesico. Say hi to her once you get the chance.

-Gina
Reply
 
#10
TO: redrider@roughriders.org
FROM: mamabear@stellvia.lib
RE: Collision Alerts Over Oceania

Just Kohran and me, yes. Noah has something on the go that's keeping everyone else busy.

I think we can squeeze a pallet in beside the big-screen TV, although the re-packing means we'll be Downside for more than a few hours. You know what that means: Shopping Trip! (Shibuya 109 has to have something that'll look good on all of us.) Unless you have to leave early. Ben did say on the news that you were going to pick someone up in LEO; when do you have to leave Japan?


OOC: OK, just when is this set? I don't see anything in the FenWiki saying when Jess joined the Roughriders...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#11
[ooc] Early part of OGJ? I think I had this as during the time that Karen Sorrel is working for VF and denying she's in love...
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
Reply
 
#12
OOC: Rob, I haven't set a date yet, but rest assured that it occurs before LoGG (sans Doug's Visit), but (obviously) after the SOS-Con. We're at that point where Ben's been using the Midnight for a bit and he's just now getting his ducks into a row at 36 Atalante - I'm not even sure if he's got Sailor Atalante and her team assigned there yet (unless I mentioned it and forgot - D'oh!). I'll have to look around the wiki to find an exact date to plug this thing in at.
Perhaps that would be who he's supposed to pick up.  It would need a bit of retconning, but I think we can make it so that Ben was supposed to meet up with the Senshi somewhere in cislunar and escort them back to Atalante.  The diversion to Japan will just mean that they meet up there instead, being all the more reason for exclusive photo-ops and interviews.  Possibly an even larger short as we meet and greet Sailor Atalante and her team.
Reply
 
#13
OOC:
Quote:Possibly an even larger short as we meet and greet Sailor Atalante and her team.
In that case, Yayoi's wearing her Sammie fuku, the better to blend in. First order of business at Shibuya 109: get Gina and Kohran their own fuku!

(Y'know, this isn't "short" any more...)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#14
Gina: (o_o) Well, at least it's not a plugsuit.
Reply
 
#15
OOC:
blackaeronaut Wrote:OOC: Rob, I haven't set a date yet, but rest assured that it occurs before LoGG (sans Doug's Visit), but (obviously) after the SOS-Con.
Given this, my amazing timeline-fu gives a date range between Wed 22nd and Tue 28th of May 2013. This is the day after the first Tachikomas come online at the earliest and the day before the main body of LoGG starts. So...

One day to get back to the Belt. Lets make this the 28th, to make sure the Roughtriders are away from Cic-Luna space.
Two to three days meet-and-greet and photos.

Saturday 25th May 2013 then. That means Yayoi and Kohran can come down on a Sunday.

Also, given Lebia and Gina know one another at this point (from Gina's Avatarisation/Embodiment), this is probably Gina's first major trip in her new body.

I can work with that...
Reply
 
#16
OOC: This also means the 140" TV is going in the Hotel Stellvia, not Ops. And it will be used for watching movies... but it'll be used by the paying customers. (Usually.) Whoever compiles this into a story gets to retcon Yayoi's email...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#17
OOC: That might be me. No worries, it'll be handled eventually. (^_^)
Reply
 
#18
To: redrider@roughriders.org

From: visionaire@prometheus_forge.fen

Subject: RE: Having fun down there?

> Yeah, AC is a handful and a half. I'm still surprised about how he...

> she... came on to me so much during the development.

Confluence of biomod quirks (Hers and Bens), you staking your claim, and her perfectionist nature jumping to make sure you FULLY tested your new body while she
could still reach it easily. She'll be calmer next time you guys meet.

> First, I'm kind of surprised that you don't let the Tachikoma's come on

> down here. They'd be a huge hit and us Fen need as much good press as

> possible. I'm pretty sure they won't cause that much trouble as long as

> they're supervised.

They're all just Awakened (which means A.C.'s having a snit about me doing that, Cyber that she is), and as I said earlier we're busy out here. Not
to mention we don't have any real business down in Japan, and making sure the authorities don't go crazy over having spidertanks driving around.
They're road legal of course, but you how reactionary 'Danes can get...

> As for Midnight... Benjamin and I are both a bit weirded out by the

> idea of a cutout switch. We think of Midnight more as a person than as

> a ship with an AI. (It's kinda hard not to once you get to know her.)

I know, I know. Had to be said though. You wouldn't want that to happen in combat.

> But a Sandbox we can do. We'll go ahead and hash out the details once

> we get back to Atalante. At least there I'll have Jess and Ruri's help.

OK, I'll be waiting if you need me.

> Oh! You don't know Ruri yet, do you? Ben just awakened her a bit ago.

> She's our new Operations AI and she's bassed off of the character from

> Nadesico. Say hi to her once you get the chance.

I'll bounce a 'Howdy' message from Metropolis over to her with mine once I send this.

Lebia
Reply
 
#19
OOC: Hey Rob, how about a real-time colab? Can you use Etherpad?
Reply
 
#20
OOC: Alas, no - something in my setup doesn't like the newer software. And I'm kinda busy at work and with family right now...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#21
OOC: About setup: Huh? Etherpad is entirely web-based. Unless its the newer browsers your box doesn't like, then there shouldn't be much of a problem.
What do you have and what OS, if I may ask?

As for work and family: Ook... Yeah, I know how that can be. We get out of dry-dock at the start of October and then we'll be underway a few weeks after
that. We're locked in for a port visit to Hong Kong, so we'll be out for a bit.
Reply
 
#22
OOC:
Quote:About setup: Huh? Etherpad is entirely web-based. Unless its the newer browsers your box doesn't like, then there shouldn't be much of a problem. What do you have and what OS, if I may ask?
Win2k, Mozilla1.7.12 (yes, I really should upgrade the browser), no Flash. It's that last one that kills most of the newest webapps (and "web"sites).

Edit: On another note, I find shopping to be a bore. (I prefer to get in, get what I need, get through checkout, and get out.) I'm not the right type to write a story about late-teen and 20-something women going shopping. I trust you; as long as you bring them back in one piece, unharmed, and happy, you can borrow Yayoi and Kohran for the weekend.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#23
The only problem is characterization; I don't know the characters all that well, really.
Reply
 
#24
This is close enough for first draft: Yayoi's a "compassionate big sister" (but not the oblivious-Tendo-Kasumi type); Kohran's a
proto-Spark/Mad.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#25
Bit of Threadcromancy, I know, but Fenspace needs more love these days. Having watched a good deal of the Sakura Taisen anime, I can easily say that Li Kohran's definitely a Spark, but certainly not mad... unless you consider people who think of their machines as being like kids, complete with odd quirks and temperments, to be mad. I certainly don't. Do you think I'm mad? Wink
...
Okay, okay, so maybe she is a pyromaniac - it could be worse though! Wink
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