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stayintheroom)
Shock diamonds are the formation of shock waves in the exhaust plume of a supersonic propulsion system. The flow of the expanding gas forms a visible diamond pattern in the trail.
Hiroshi Rankstri is one of the more well-adjusted characters in this universe. Even though I don't really have a firm grasp on his personality yet. This is him trying to tell me what it is.
Title: Shock Diamond
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ultranos
Rating: PG-13/R (Language, again. Hiroshi has a foul mouth.)
Summary: There were two things that could give Hiroshi a thrill like nothing else: speed and the stars. He finally got to combine the two.
The first time Hiroshi found himself sitting in the cockpit of an X-863 fighter, he also found himself wondering what the hell he was doing. That and questioning the sanity of all his higher ups. It wasn't like he had no idea what he was doing. He'd logged hundreds of hours in the sims and spent countless more in the hanger bay as a mechanic. Hell, he'd seen and worked on the designs for these babies. He knew this fighter inside and out.
But all that flew out the window as he sat in the hanger bay and stared down the launch tunnel. This wasn't a sim. This? This was real. If he twitched wrong, or at the wrong moment, he could crash into the fucking wall and wouldn't that be a nice fireball?
Except fireballs don't happen in a vacuum. There wasn't enough oxygen for them to burn. But that didn't mean that things couldn't short-out and electrocute him, despite the insulated pilot suit and oh Creator, he was forgetting basic physics.
He forced himself to take a deep breath against the rising tide of panic. Under a supreme act of sheer willpower, he ignored the voice in his head reminding him that this was not a sim as he forced himself to run through his pre-flight checklist. He also did his best to ignore the tiny tremor in his hands as he flipped the switches. Well, hand. The prosthetic one was steady as could be, thank Creator for small favors.
He still had time. He leaned back against the seat and concentrated on taking deep breaths. As he closed his eyes, he tried to concentrate on why he was here. This is what he wanted, right? He'd only been dreaming about this his entire life.
"Do you see that group of stars there?"
"Momma?" Hiroshi's eyes shot open. He was still in the cockpit, decked out in his flight suit, waiting for the go for launch. He shook his head to clear it.
"Do you see that group of stars there?"
And suddenly, Hiroshi was five years old again, sitting on his momma's lap as she held him and pointed up at the sky. When he nodded furiously, she continued, her warm, rich voice surrounding him as she held him securely. "That's Teirex, the Raptor. They say he flew so fast that he conquered gravity and flew out in the stars."
Five-year-old Hiroshi blinked. "But what about air? How did he breathe?"
His momma laughed. "Trust you. You're too clever by half." She wrapped the other arm around him and mother and son both looked up at the night sky.
"Momma?"
"Hm?"
"If...if I go really fast, can I fly out into the stars too?"
She smiled down at his eager face. "How fast can you go? You already run like the wind."
"I want to be faster. I'll go faster. I wanna reach the stars."
"Baby, you'll do it. You'll go so fast, not even the wind could catch you."
Hiroshi shook himself out of his trip down memory lane. Momma wasn't here. Momma was resting under six feet of dirt and had been for eight years. But somehow, she had known all those years ago just what a speed junkie her son was. She had laughed at how he had always pushed himself against the window of the railcars to watch the scenery speed past. He looked down at his artificial hand. She had been so grateful that all he'd lost in the terrorist attack had been an arm. Momma had known losing a leg would have destroyed him.
But losing the arm had destroyed her. He clenched his fist. She never got to see him ride his first motorcycle, worrying that he'd fall off as he raced AJ 'round the track. She never got to hear him rant on and on about the specs of the very fighter he was sitting in. The fighter he had a part in making.
"Viper One, this is Control. You have a go."
Hiroshi took a deep breath. "Control, this is Viper One. Initiating take-off."
His fingers flew over the last switches. He kept his eyes open and focus on the exit of the hanger bay as he felt the engines roar to life. The entire world collapsed to a single point in space. He stopped thinking. There was only Hiroshi Rankstri. The machine he was sitting in was merely an extension of himself. And he wanted to run.
He threw the stick forward and the fighter jumped to life at his touch. He rocketed down the tunnel and shot out, burning through the atmosphere, out into the black, the afterburners of the craft leaving little points of light in his wake. Below him were the two globes, Skyryn and Elrushyn, gradually getting smaller as he shot further away from them. Above and around him were a million points of light.
He looked up and found a familiar cluster of stars. Teirex glittered in the black, brighter than ever before. And he found himself grinning like a fool.
"I did it, Momma. I did it."
stayintheroom)Shock diamonds are the formation of shock waves in the exhaust plume of a supersonic propulsion system. The flow of the expanding gas forms a visible diamond pattern in the trail.
Hiroshi Rankstri is one of the more well-adjusted characters in this universe. Even though I don't really have a firm grasp on his personality yet. This is him trying to tell me what it is.
Title: Shock Diamond
Author:
ultranosRating: PG-13/R (Language, again. Hiroshi has a foul mouth.)
Summary: There were two things that could give Hiroshi a thrill like nothing else: speed and the stars. He finally got to combine the two.
The first time Hiroshi found himself sitting in the cockpit of an X-863 fighter, he also found himself wondering what the hell he was doing. That and questioning the sanity of all his higher ups. It wasn't like he had no idea what he was doing. He'd logged hundreds of hours in the sims and spent countless more in the hanger bay as a mechanic. Hell, he'd seen and worked on the designs for these babies. He knew this fighter inside and out.
But all that flew out the window as he sat in the hanger bay and stared down the launch tunnel. This wasn't a sim. This? This was real. If he twitched wrong, or at the wrong moment, he could crash into the fucking wall and wouldn't that be a nice fireball?
Except fireballs don't happen in a vacuum. There wasn't enough oxygen for them to burn. But that didn't mean that things couldn't short-out and electrocute him, despite the insulated pilot suit and oh Creator, he was forgetting basic physics.
He forced himself to take a deep breath against the rising tide of panic. Under a supreme act of sheer willpower, he ignored the voice in his head reminding him that this was not a sim as he forced himself to run through his pre-flight checklist. He also did his best to ignore the tiny tremor in his hands as he flipped the switches. Well, hand. The prosthetic one was steady as could be, thank Creator for small favors.
He still had time. He leaned back against the seat and concentrated on taking deep breaths. As he closed his eyes, he tried to concentrate on why he was here. This is what he wanted, right? He'd only been dreaming about this his entire life.
"Do you see that group of stars there?"
"Momma?" Hiroshi's eyes shot open. He was still in the cockpit, decked out in his flight suit, waiting for the go for launch. He shook his head to clear it.
"Do you see that group of stars there?"
And suddenly, Hiroshi was five years old again, sitting on his momma's lap as she held him and pointed up at the sky. When he nodded furiously, she continued, her warm, rich voice surrounding him as she held him securely. "That's Teirex, the Raptor. They say he flew so fast that he conquered gravity and flew out in the stars."
Five-year-old Hiroshi blinked. "But what about air? How did he breathe?"
His momma laughed. "Trust you. You're too clever by half." She wrapped the other arm around him and mother and son both looked up at the night sky.
"Momma?"
"Hm?"
"If...if I go really fast, can I fly out into the stars too?"
She smiled down at his eager face. "How fast can you go? You already run like the wind."
"I want to be faster. I'll go faster. I wanna reach the stars."
"Baby, you'll do it. You'll go so fast, not even the wind could catch you."
Hiroshi shook himself out of his trip down memory lane. Momma wasn't here. Momma was resting under six feet of dirt and had been for eight years. But somehow, she had known all those years ago just what a speed junkie her son was. She had laughed at how he had always pushed himself against the window of the railcars to watch the scenery speed past. He looked down at his artificial hand. She had been so grateful that all he'd lost in the terrorist attack had been an arm. Momma had known losing a leg would have destroyed him.
But losing the arm had destroyed her. He clenched his fist. She never got to see him ride his first motorcycle, worrying that he'd fall off as he raced AJ 'round the track. She never got to hear him rant on and on about the specs of the very fighter he was sitting in. The fighter he had a part in making.
"Viper One, this is Control. You have a go."
Hiroshi took a deep breath. "Control, this is Viper One. Initiating take-off."
His fingers flew over the last switches. He kept his eyes open and focus on the exit of the hanger bay as he felt the engines roar to life. The entire world collapsed to a single point in space. He stopped thinking. There was only Hiroshi Rankstri. The machine he was sitting in was merely an extension of himself. And he wanted to run.
He threw the stick forward and the fighter jumped to life at his touch. He rocketed down the tunnel and shot out, burning through the atmosphere, out into the black, the afterburners of the craft leaving little points of light in his wake. Below him were the two globes, Skyryn and Elrushyn, gradually getting smaller as he shot further away from them. Above and around him were a million points of light.
He looked up and found a familiar cluster of stars. Teirex glittered in the black, brighter than ever before. And he found himself grinning like a fool.
"I did it, Momma. I did it."
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