Victor: Journal 1

Post date: Jul 20, 2014 6:22:1 AM

Helicon Base – Friday Komos 27^th, HE 882, 11:47 PM

Victor turned over for the third time that night, unable to get comfortable. Something inside him refused rest, as if objecting to it after the long period of physical inactivity imposed by the simulation. He punched his pillow, as if it were to blame. The pillow absorbed the blow without complaint, not that he was expecting any.

Throwing his covers back and sitting up, he exhaled in frustration. He never had a problem with the military sleeping capsules before. The snug-fitting five cubic-meter encapsulated sleeping bunks built two-high into the barracks walls allowed a tiny bit of privacy while not using much space. He'd spent countless nights over the years sleeping in various capsules, but now the confined space put him on edge.

He wrinkled his brow in annoyance. The simulation didn't give him a single mote of magical power, but if it gave him claustrophobia he was going to be pissed.

He reached over to a small alcove set into the wall and slipped a pair of glasses onto his face. Tapping the frames once, a holographic H.U.D. appeared in front of him. The glasses were a standardized data terminal used by the Messembrian military, a design Victor had grown increasingly fond of over the years for its practicality.

Using his eyes and fingers, the eyepiece sensors detected where he was looking and what aspect of the holographic display he intended to touch. After accepting his personal ID and verifying it against the central security database, the list of his normal contacts appeared.

Unsurprisingly, all of them were offline. Given that it was 11:49 PM, this wasn't shocking. If any were awake, they'd be on duty and unlikely to be connected to Natter™. If they weren't on duty, they'd be asleep (unlike himself, he noted somewhat glumly).

He was about to take the glasses off when a single name on his contact list lit up in green - someone just came online. He managed to recognize the name just before the message popped up on his screen.

RedWrench: "Can't sleep either, eh?"

It was Emiria, using her Natter™ username. She'd added him as a contact during their last meeting, in case they needed to talk shop over long distances. Victor leaned back against his pillow before responding with his own username.

Vytor: "Nah, feeling edgy. What's your excuse?"

RedWrench: "You ever have one of those really wacked-out dreams? Just had one and I wanna write down what I can before I forget it."

Vytor: "Feel like sharing?"

RedWrench: "Sure. This all gets logged anyways."

What followed was a typically surreal dream adventure involving a long series of apparent non sequiturs. Victor neither typed nor said anything, waiting for her to finish.

RedWrench: "...we weren't sure which oven our guide went into, so we just opened the first one near us. That was when I figured - huh, this is weird - and that's when I woke up."

Vytor: "That's certainly surreal, but I wouldn't put too much into it. Sometimes our brains just want to show us some weird shit when they're done organizing things."

RedWrench: "You ever have any weird dreams?"

Vytor: "On occasion. There was one I remember during high school that disturbed me a bit. I dreamed that my grandparents on my father's side came down with some awful disease."

Vytor: "It turned them into different, but large monsters, one bright green and one bright red. They were in constant pain, but they'd feel a little better if they peeled their faces off like a mask, which eventually grew back."

RedWrench: "Ew."

Vytor: "Quite. I was the captain of a ship, and the only known cure was across the sea. We'd set sail, but every time we did a rogue wave would grab the ship and slap it back down on the beach."

Vytor: "It kept happening over and over again and it was very frustrating. Fortunately I caught onto the fact that none of it made sense, especially the part where I'd pick up the boat and drop it back into the water after being beached, and woke up."

RedWrench: "Did you ever mention that one to your grandparents?"

Vytor: "I never actually met them, which was doubly weird. They died before my Dad emmigrated to Messembria. I know the people in my dream were supposed to be my grandparents, but they could have been anyone for all I know."

RedWrench: "Maybe they were grandparents on your mother's side?"

Vytor: "Nah, I've never actually met them. They disowned her when she married my Dad and want nothing to do with us. I do know what they look like and it definitely wasn't them."

RedWrench: "They disowned their own daughter? What a bunch of jerkasses!"

Vytor: "Very much so. Still, not having people in my life like that is no great loss."

RedWrench: "Let's change the subject to something more pleasant. Did you get the Skyranger schematic file transfer I sent you?"

Vytor: "Yes and no. I have the file, but my security clearance isn't good enough to open it."

There was a lengthy pause before Emiria responded.

RedWrench: "Let me take a wild guess at the stupidity that's occurring here. Despite everything that's happened since joining the project your security clearance is still unchanged, right?"

Vytor: "Apparently. To be fair, I haven't been cleared for active duty yet."

RedWrench: "I swear, the next time I see the Colonel I'm going to wring his neck. I'll see what I can do to get you the right clearance."

RedWrench: "We'll just do this the old-fashioned way. Got any questions?"

Victor thought for a bit, trying to picture the Skyranger schematics in his mind's eye. His attention was drawn to a pair of flat dome-like objects attached to the top of the vehicle, whose function he didn't recognize.

Vytor: "How about those two small dome-things on the top of the Skyranger? The ones between the V.O.R.P. and the tail-engine. What are those?"

RedWrench: "Those are some of the few concessions we've managed to get out of the Xenian artisans we have access to. In terms of human tech, they're pretty unique."

RedWrench: "You've seen the Skyranger, and you know its as aerodynamic as a brick and weighs craptons. There's no way those three engines are strong enough to get it into the air."

RedWrench: "We ran the numbers, and the Skyranger would need a wingspan three times as wide as it is long to get airborne."

Vytor: "Hardly ideal for a 'rapid response go anywhere' vehicle. With a wingspan that big we'd only be able to land at the largest airports."

RedWrench: "Exactly! So here's where the Xenians come in. I can't pronounce what the Xenians call them, but the literal translation is: long burden yearns under subjective parental guidance."

Vytor: "What?"

RedWrench: "It's a Xenian thing, but here's the cool part. Those devices use a pair of Earth and Air Geodes held on opposite sides around a stationary axis of selenium-silver-copper alloy."

RedWrench: "As the pair rotates around the axis, the combination generates inertia where there is none. The faster they spin, the more inertia is generated. Generate enough inertia in the right directions, and you can fly!"

Vytor: "A month of two ago, I'd say you were nuts but I know better now. So why use those AND a bunch of engines if they're all we need to fly?"

RedWrench: "Its a pretty simple reason. The Mass Vector Projectors, or MVPs as we're calling them, can only generate so much force for their size and maximum rotational speed."

RedWrench: "According to the Xenian artisans, those are normally used for smaller civilian uses, and none of the Xenians here know how to make larger or more powerful ones. So they're the best we have."

RedWrench: "Still, they're useful. Those two MVPs on top of the Skyanger magnify the upward thrust generated by the engines by a factor of five. Imagine another 12 VTOL engines strapped to the Skyranger and you'll get the picture."

Victor did imagine, and was very impressed. The three engines of the Skyranger looked woefully inadequate for the task on their own.

Vytor: "Why not just use more MVPs?"

RedWrench: "Two reasons. First, the Xenians only provided us with two MVPs. Second, putting MVPs too close to each other causes them to pull towards each other when they get going."

Vytor: "And so the two you have are far enough apart to avoid that."

RedWrench: "I knew you'd catch on quick. We tried a few computer models using more than two. Too little power to the MPVs and the Skyranger wouldn't budge. Too much and the Skyranger folded like a beer can as it tried to take off. Very messy."

Victor ran a few numbers in his head before responding.

Vytor: "What about putting two on top of the out VTOL engines, and a third on the rear engine?"

RedWrench: "Tried that. The engines took flight nicely, but the rest of the Skyranger didn't. Good thinking tho."

There was a pause before Emiria responded again.

RedWrench: "As much as I like talking shop, I'm gonna try and get back to sleep. And so should you!"

Victor smiled to himself.

Vytor: "Yes ma'am."

RedWrench: "Night!"

Emiria's name on the screen when dim, signaling her disconnect from Natter™. Victor tapped the frame of his glasses again, and the H.U.D. vanished. After returning the glasses to their alcove, he repositioned himself for another try at sleep. He had little confidence in the endeavor at this point, but felt obligated to try.