driftfleet | selvin-9 system mingle

[ Good enough signal for her. He reaches zero, and she jets forward!

The speed is incredible, and the open field still has enough stray rocks and trees to keep things exciting. She finds herself needing to weave around an obstacle now and then, while still trying to keep herself at top speed. This thing may not be a sparrow, and she has no idea if her challenger has actual experience with snowmobiles prior to this, but she's still going to give him a damn good run for his money - if she doesn't outright best him, of course~ ]

[It definitely was no bare tundra, but it was little less crazy then trying to do this through heavy woods or on a rocky mountainside. And, while snowmobiles weren't ATVs, and they definitely weren't hoverspeeders, Keith was quick to adapt. He wasn't an ace pilot for nothing. The kid was good at getting a feel for a vehicle in very little time. So, he had no trouble keeping up and certainly giving her a good challenge if he didn't actually end up overtaking her, instead...]

[ Yeah, this is a close one - and Jayden is loving every second of it, even if cruising over snow isn't quite the same as hovering just off the ground. A race is still a race, and the adrenaline is still very real.

They're neck-and-neck the entire way, but they're nearing the end of the clearing now - so she gives it one final push, dodging around one final stone before pushing her snowmobile to its limits, speeding toward the edge of the field. Call it a last-ditch effort to finally overtake him for good. But even if it doesn't work out in her favor? Doesn't matter. ]

(( ooc: feel free to pick the winner, or flip a coin! may the best speed demon win |D ))

[It was definitely close to the finish. They were both top of their game on this stuff, and Keith enjoyed a good challenge to his talents. They rounded that stone together, one on each side, and the treeline at the other side was in sight. It looked clear for the rest of the way, so Keith gunned it just as he heard her do the same. She wasn't making it easy on him, that was for sure. And, even if it was clear of obstacles, the ground was still uneven, so a flat out run would be downright dangerous.

They would have tied at that point if only that uneven ground had identical contours between them, but there were enough differences that it slowed him down. She crossed the treeline less than a second before him. But, Keith knew when he was beat. He wouldn't argue it. He brought the machine back down to a more reasonable speed and banked around to meet up with her again after the race. Once together, he shut off the engine and removed his helmet, smiling.]

Good race.

[ He didn't make it easy on her, either - which she damn well appreciated. It was seriously a close call. But, more importantly, it had been one hell of a fun race.

She slows as well, swings over to meet him halfway and cuts the engine. She takes off her own helmet, meets his smile with one of her own. ]

You too. Nice driving - you used to these things, or something like them?

Something like 'em... [Keith shrugged.] I have a hoverspeeder back home which operates like a motorcycle would. [He leaned on the handle bars, looking back over the terrain.] So, it's not hard to make the adjustments to figure this thing out. It's kind of like a snow version of the ATVs we had a few systems ago.

[ Oh nice. ]

Hoverspeeder? We have those back home too. Called sparrows. That's what I'm used to. [ Pause. ] I remember those ATVs. Took me some time to get used to the added friction of not hovering, but yeah, you're right. Just a matter of adjusting.

Yeah. And feeling like... every single bump. [He chuckled a little, then reached out his hand towards her in greeting.] I'm Keith, pilot on the Huntress.

You ride a lot, I'm guessing?

Exactly. [ She smiles a little more, shakes his hand. ] Jayden Price. Pilot on the Goldstone.

And yeah, I do. I'm a Guardian - a soldier, in my world. Sparrows are how we get where we're going planetside. ... And my friends would talk me into signing up for races sometimes.

[ Her friends are ridiculous. ~~But she likes them anyway~~ ]

A Guardian, huh?

[Keith started to say something, but then stopped himself. He wasn't sure he could really call himself a Paladin of Voltron anymore, no matter how much the others might insist that he was still a part of the team. He really was with the Blade of Marmora. Still, though...]

I'm part of a group of soldiers, too. I'm guessing the fact that you said, "planetside" means you're used to traveling in space?

Yeah, I am. I'm from Earth. Mm, some version of it. [ One that no one else here seems to be from, far as she knows. ] We're based there, missions take us all through the sol system - other planets, moons, asteroids... wherever we're needed.

Where are you from? Do much space travel?

[ He's got a hoverbike, after all, so odds are pretty high, right? ]

I um... I guess I'm from a different version of Earth, then. [He shrugged sheepishly.] We're still mostly just exploring our own solar system, too... just recently sent our first crew out to Kerberos, one of Pluto's moons.

As for me, well... we sort of stumbled on an alien warship that was buried on Earth for like ten thousand years, and it activated for us, and then we got sucked through a wormhole to the other side of the Galaxy, and now we travel all over space fighting against an evil alien empire.

So, I guess I'm in a special situation compared to the rest of humanity. Space travel is pretty normal for me now, but, what we're doing? And how we're traveling around? It's way beyond what anyone else on Earth knows about.

[ Wow. Well regardless, it's interesting to hear that other versions of Earth are still sending manned missions through the solar system even without the Traveler granting them light or the Darkness trying to destroy them! The rest of it though? Pretty strange. But cool. ]

Fighting an evil alien empire sounds familiar. [ Hello, that's her everyday life back home. ] But a wormhole - damn. Does... that mean you're stuck away from Earth now?

Sort of. I mean, we could probably go home, but it hasn't really come up. [Well, it had once, but they had sort of all turned it down after the incident with Sendak taking over the Castle and almost killing Lance and Coran.]

The mission we're on sort of encompassed everything, you know? And, well, if we don't stop Zarkon, eventually, he'll get to Earth, and we'll just be stuck facing him again anyway, but he might be stronger by then. So, it's better we just do what we can to take him down now, and then go back to Earth when it's done.

[If there was anything on Earth left for Keith to go back to... he wasn't so sure, to be honest. But, he knew others would want to go back... Matt and Pidge to their mom, Hunk and Lance to their families... He wasn't sure about Shiro, but it was something to think about another time.]

Makes sense. As a Guardian, a lot of my missions involve putting an end to specific targets - threats - before they come for Earth.

[ She nods. Gotta do what needs doing, right? ]

Yeah. [Keith nodded a little.] Sounds about right.

[He nodded back to town.] Wanna grab a coffee or something?

Sure, coffee sounds good. I'd say "Race you there," but they'd probably bust us for speeding in city limits.

[ Alas. ]

[Keith chuckled.]

Heh, probably.

[He reached up to put his helmet back on.]

Doesn't mean we can't race to the city limits, though.

[He smirked.]

selvin-9 system mingle

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RNG picked Jayden!

\o/ !!

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HOW ARE THEY SO MUCH ALIKE?

I DON'T KNOW BUT I DIG IT!

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