2 - WITNESS ME, FLEET

[iamawaited]

Who: Nux and the poor, poor SS Red Fish
Broadcast: FLEETWIDE
Action: On the bridge of the Red Fish
When: August 1st, immediately following the shuffle

[Action]

[A few people had told Nux that he would be placed on a ship soon, but he's still not prepared for it when he's suddenly plucked from the Marsiva to arrive in some other place with music in his ears and something soft and fluffy -- paper, he realizes -- showering over him. Some had told him that he would get a chance to drive it, but that doesn't in any way dampen the overwhelming rush of excitement he feels when he realizes that the room has a windshield, looking out over an expanse of sand, and a driver's seat, and a set of controls he realizes he knows how to use.

He doesn't even notice the chocolate.

A few minutes later, there's a loud whoop from the bridge, and suddenly the Red Fish goes rocketing forward and into the air, soaring away from the planet at top speed.]

[Video]

[Furiosa! he realizes belatedly. If she doesn't know about this, she needs to. If she does, then why didn't she tell him??? Either way, he fumbles his communicator out of his utility belt with one hand, slaps it on the dashboard, and switches it on, broadcasting fleetwide. He grabs the controls with both hands and whoops again.]

Imperator Furiosa! Furiosa! Have you seen this? This is way shinier than a war rig!

[He laughs manically, eyes gleaming bright as the blue sky starts to dissipate into night in front of him. The ship kicks just a little faster as the fuel starts to burn away.]

I am the man who grabs the sun!

Comments

[kill_switch]

[Furiosa didn't tell you Nux because she was busy familiarizing herself with her own rig and oh yeah also constructing a new arm. Which, she's currently fussing with when she receives his video. She knows exactly what that expression means, and she swears as she pitches her screwdriver to the table and grabs up the device.]

Warboy. What's your heading?

[She's running through her ship to throw herself into place, chucking the device on the dash and hoping it landed right. Thankfully she'd spent enough time familiarizing herself with the controls earlier that getting the First Breath into a pursuit wasn't too much of a struggle. Certainly not what she had been planning for today.]

[iamawaited]

[His heading? Who has time for that? He laughs again.]

It's up!

[He glances over, just long enough to see her at her controls.]

Are you gonna ride out with me?

[kill_switch]

[Shit. Okay, fine, she need to get familiar with the navigation settings anyway. The nub of her left arm anchored around the steering controls, she punches in brings in the console to try and track the Red Fish as a target. While her augment is supplying her with the right idea on where things are, muscle memory fur this kind of thing hasn't been built up yet. It feels clunky and inefficient and it's frustrating her on a whole new level.]

No. Just ensuring you turn the rig around and park it.

[iamawaited]

What? Why?

[He shoots another glance her way, totally incredulous. Furiosa, why are you not enjoying how completely awesome this is with him? He gives a rebellious little shake of his head and looks back out on the stars, grinning to himself.]

This is pure octane!

[kill_switch]

[ She punches it. She has to get ahead of him if she wants any chance of heading him off.]

Do you have any idea how much guzzoline you're wasting right now?

[iamawaited]

I--

[But then something bangs hard into the back of his seat and he whips around.]

Coil!

[He twists to talk to him, Furiosa momentarily forgotten.]

[blindoptimism]

[Lalala oh what a fine day to be in the Red Fish, time to get everything cleaned up and ready to head back into space away from this planet hm--

... But then that feeling when the ship suddenly pitches out from under you and you get thrown out of your wheelchair. Just feel free to imagine yakety sax playing as she rolls up and down the hallway :'3

I swear, I'll post an actual reply soon]

Action;

[theboogieman]

[meanwhile, on the SS Red Fish... who's flying this thing??

Zhas pitches out of the armory, scrambling to remain upright even as the rest of the ship practically tilts into vertical ascension. he goes sliding back several feet before he thinks to catch hold of a doorframe on his way down. whatever this is, it better be a punchable problem and not just their ship's computer suddenly going haywire for the ratings.

he twists to try and count any crew he can see--but his hand slips and he goes sliding further, knocking into someone on the way.]

Action;

[child_of_bhaal]

[The sudden incline of the ship had her off-guard, she stumbled and fell. She grabs for a handhold along the wall and pulls herself back upright. Then Zhas slams into her. And since he outweighs her by plenty, she loses her hold and starts tumbling back again. Instinct has her grabbing for purchase, but the most solid thing within reach is him.]

Action;

[theboogieman]

[being grabbed at warrants and angry grunt, twisting to try and elbow whatever it is in the head--he's got just enough clearance to see the mess of red hair before he slams into the wall.

they're just a couple feet away from the door to the cargo bay. his feet might be on the floor. there's a lot of red hair in his face and he's not having it.]

Re: Action;

[child_of_bhaal]

[She's blinded by her own hair, falling out of control, and then she's hit in the face. It drives a pained grunt out of her, and she's had just about enough of this.]

Damn it, Zhas, stop!

[She shoves at her hair, trying to clear it out of the way. He's pinning some ice it to her, so it pulls unpleasantly. What a mess.]

[theboogieman]

Who's flying the ship.

[he probably meant to say, "I'm sorry I elbowed you, this is terribly awkward", but you know how these things go. he tries to find her shoulders to push her away from him... maybe accidentally grabbing a little closer to something that's not her shoulder than anyone wanted.

but hey, he watches Coil clamber up to the bridge, all the way across the hall--and can at least shove Syeira over enough to get her out of his face.]

[child_of_bhaal]

Obviously not me-

[She makes another annoyed pain-face, because you do not push on that part of her that is totally not her shoulder. That hurts.]

so stop -Ow!- beating me up!

[And then he shoves her and she shoves him right back. It's like the worst game of twister ever. And then she feels a tug and she stops shoving, and instead grabs onto his shoulders and tries to hold him still.]

Stop! Stop stop! I'm caught on you.

[The grommet of her swim outfit top has found a nice place to get hooked onto his shoulder holster. It would be...embarrassing at least if they kept trying to forcibly pull away from each other.]

action;

[mortalcoil]

[it's a good thing that Coil has had plenty of experience with climbing under ridiculous circumstances, because that is the only way he is going to successfully struggle his way up to the bridge--especially with the chaos that he can hear tumbling around toward the rear.

fortunately, he'd been in his bunk at the time, instead of down in the lab. so, when everything in the ship begins to tip and careen aftward, he doesn't have too far to go.

he just prays that the problem is actually at the helm, and not in the engine room or mysteriously in the workings of the computer.]

action

[iamawaited]

[The problem is, indeed, at the helm: six foot three inches of problem, with a shiny shaved head that Coil might find newly familiar even from behind.

For his part, Nux is totally absorbed in what he's doing, except for the quick snatches of shouting back and forth with Furiosa. The sky outside is glittering dark, and he's transfixed by it, eagerly speeding ever-faster out towards the stars. The ship gives him another little nudge of speed and he laughs wildly, pulling back on the throttle to climb just that little bit higher in turn.]

action

[mortalcoil]

[he wheezes-- both from the shock of recognition, and the way that gravity tugs deep in his gut. plunging forcefully into the vast ocean of stars ahead of them almost gives him the same kind of heady disorientation that the real ocean does, and his stomach does a little flip-flop before he finds his bearings again.

he can't yell, so the first thing he does is reach down to catch some rattling piece of metallic something rolling by, and whip it hard at the back of Nux's head.

he's a little impaired in the depth-perception department though, so it'll be a miracle if it actually hits its target. he's just hoping it will come close enough to maybe get his attention somehow, while he continues to make his climb toward the pilot's seat.]

action

[iamawaited]

[Whatever it is, it hits the back of Nux's seat, hard enough to make him turn around for just a second. When he does, he spots the man in the door and brightens, the recognition instant on his face.]

Coil! Are you my lancer here? Look!

[He turns back to the sky before them, beaming.]

Look at all that road.

action

[mortalcoil]

[he wishes, momentarily, that he had the ability to speak. or, that Nux could at least understand his signs. there's so little he can do from back here.

though, to be fair, he doesn't really sign much here. he mostly throws the arm that isn't holding onto the doorframe into wild waving, trying to motion back toward the planet.

but then Nux isn't even looking at him anymore, and he seethes out a voiceless breath of frustration.

what is he even doing here?

he's got no choice but to shove himself forward, climbing from piece to piece of bolted-down furniture, all the way up to the pilot's seat. and once he's there, he's banging on the dashboard with one hand, and desperately drawing a finger across his own throat in an attempt to demand that he kill it.]

video

[stickupherforehead]

You're grabbing the what now?

[this human seems very.....happy.]

video

[iamawaited]

[This may literally be the best day of his half-life, Pearl.]

This great big shiny ship! Oh-- what a ride this is!

[stickupherforehead]

[who knew humans could be even more short-lived?]

Well, I suppose to more primitive species these ships are rather [airquotes] "shiny," as you so eloquently stated.

[wait] Where did you say you were going again?

[iamawaited]

[Yeah, he's, like, barely listening.]

Look at all those stars!

[stickupherforehead]

Uhhhh. [okaaaaaay] Yes. I'm very excited for you, but you should -

[huh. Do people really get warning signals in their ships if they try to escape with it?

Hmmm.] Technically, I don't believe you're allowed to leave the fleet. [but she wouldn't mind seeing what happens]

Video

[alwayscomeback]

Oh, hey, you got your ship. Congrats, pal. [Too bad, it's the HEATHEN RED FISH. ]

[notkittenaround]

[... Worrisome. A well dressed lady considers the facts before her. A maniac seeks the stars, but which is it? A man's blunt words, or an allegory? ]

I hope you do not seek to dive into the hot heart of a star.