Entering the Galahad discussion

((Airboarding is a futuristic sport in which the player stands on a skateboard-like board which hovers a few inches off the ground due to magnets. From the book: "The rooms were usually the size of a basketball court, with padded walls and banked corners. The key to the sport lay under the floors, out of sight. A series of grids, like the rails of a small railroad track, crisscrossed and threaded throughout the room. Each rail carried a strong magnetic charge which could be turned on and off by a computer that oversaw the competition. On the bottom of each Airboard ran a strip of equally powerful magnets... Since all of the charged rails were out of sight, riders had to become especially sensitive to the differences between magnetic attraction and diminishing charge. One false move meant a spill." ~Dom Testa))

A siren sounded, the lights going red.

This startled Jane, who was rounding a sharp turn as they went off, causing her to lose her balance and hit the padded floor with a muffled thud.

The siren quit almost as soon as it began.

"Owww.." Jane groaned. Even thought the walls and floor were padded, if you landed the wrong way you could still get injuries. Great, she thought, the last thing I need is another trip to the sick house.

Jane clambered to her feet, only to fall down again after feeling intense pain in her right knee."Help!" she shouted. She looked around the track for assistance but no one seemed to be there. "Roc?" Jane called out.

Roc's voice came over the speaker. "This is why that sport is too dangerous," he scolded Jane. "And pointless."

Sevania came into the nearly empty room and sucked in a deep breath. It had been a while since she'd Airboarded, what with all the intense training. She saw Jane on the floor and hurried over to help. "Took a pretty hard spill there, did you?"

"Umm... Yeah," Jane said, wincing. She stood up again and picked her air board up off the padded floors. "Umm... Thanks" Jane said shyly. She wasn't quite sure what else to say and didn't want to respond to Roc, either. She knew that all the other crew members liked him and thought he was funny, but for some odd reason the idea of a talking computer scared her. "Does he... always say things like that?" She asked Sevania awkwardly.

Tsubasa entered the Airboarding track and remembered he first played this sport, he almost had to go the sick house but he got off the board before he crashed.

(( what does "remembered fruit out this sport" mean?))

Jane looked up to see Tsubasa enter with his air board. She wondered if she wasn't the only one who was intimidated by Roc. "Hey, what is your opinion on talking computers?" Jane asked. She suddenly regretted her words, she must have sounded like a complete weirdo. She hoped Roc wouldn't answer.

((No idea...))

Sevania, in reply to Jane's question, answered "Always." A tiny hint of a smile tugged at her lips- she found Roc entertaining. "Do you want m to help you to the Sick House?" she added as an afterthought, because she really didn't know how hard Jane was hurt.

"No, I'm fine..." Jane answered. Her knee did hurt, but she didn't want to go to the Sick House so she tried to keep from rubbing her knee as she said, "Can Roc hear us everywhere, or only when we want him to?" She blushed nervously as she thought of herself singing in her dorm when she thought she was alone...

"Everywhere," confirmed Sevania. "But he's a computer. He knows how to keep secrets. Hopefully," she added, because she really did have a few doubts.

"I'm offended," came Roc's reply. "Can't you at least have a little respect for me?"

"Ummm..." she began. It felt strange speaking to a computer, but she decided to give it a try. "There aren't really talking computers where I'm from..." she began slowly. "So you can see everything on the ship at once? Umm... Roy Orzini created you, right?"

((Sorry again,I have a re-tarted ipod touch who loves to change my words.))

((Oh, that's what "remembered fruit of this sport" means!!!!!))

"Yes, and yes. But don't expect me to watch everywhere, all the time. I have a busy social life you know."

Sevania laughed softly. "Besides us, you mean?"

"Yeah, I bet he has a date with the Airboard track controller in a few hours," laughed Jane. "And then he has piano lessons with my CD player!"

"Oh, please," scoffed the computer. "Lessons? I don't need lessons. Because I already know everything there is to know." This last sentence was spoken with barely concealed smugness.

"You are so conceited," Sev said, rolling her eyes. "So, if you don't want to go to the Sick House, how about you give me a few pointers with Airboarding? It's been a while since I've taken a run..."

"Sure!" agreed Jane, ignoring Roc's comment. "Just don't expect me to help you with the sharp turns!" She rubbed her knee, which didn't hurt as much now. "What was with the alarm, anyway? It startled me and made me fall off the board."

"One of the engines combusted in the control room." The ship captain shrugged. "Bad luck, sure, but I'm sure it was nothing."

"Is the ship all right?" Jane always read science fiction books where the engine of the spacecraft somehow got damaged, and the ship was in danger of crashing. She sure hoped this wasn't the case here.

"I'm sure it's fine," Sevania reassured her. "Besides, we're the best of the best here. If anyone can fix it, it's us." She smiled easily and stood up from her spot crouching by Jane. Going quickly over to the door where she had dropped her stuff, she came back with her Airboard and pads. "Let's give this a try."

"Okay," she responded. "I'll go first." Jane got onto her board and started to zoom around the room. A few minutes later, she fell off, this time doing a somersault and standing up. "It's best to land like that," she explained. "And it's actually kind of fun!"

"Yes," agreed Sev, remembering her early years Airboarding. It had become evident almost immediately that she had a natural talent for the sport, and she'd been given scholarship lessons and even competed a little bit. But it had been a few years since she'd even seen a track; training for the Galahad had taken up all of her time.

"Do you want to try?"

"Sure." Sev strapped on her equipment and stood herself on the board. Suppressing the nervousness, she leaned forward and tiny bit, forcing herself not to squeal like a newbie when the board started moving. Pretty soon, Sevania got the feel again and inched her speed up bit by bit.

"Yeah, that's how you do it!" encouraged Jane. "If Roc was a human he would never be able to do it like you!" She watched Seviana zoom around the room for a bit. Wow, she thought, She's better than me!

"Yeah, right," scoffed Roc. "I can calculate the exact trajectory angle to acquire maximum speed and balance, and beat any of you any day!"

"Oh, just shut up," Sevania called out to him, feeling light headed and confident as she decided to go even faster. She could feel the magnets under her like they were a part of her own life, shifting, changing, and laying out a clear path for her to glide over. She felt great.

Jane watched her flash by, zooming faster than she'd ever seen anyone go. "Careful, Sev! You're going REALLY fast! You don't want to have to make a trip to the sick house!" called Jane

"I'll be fine!" Sevania yelled back over the wind that whistled past her. And the funny thing was, she knew she would be. She had almost forgotten the exhilarating feel and zooming around and around on an Airboard. Finally, wanting to give Jane a turn, she slowed to a steady stop, jumping off to land sturdily on her feet. "That. Was. Amazing."

((You're good at writing :) and being Roc :D))

"Wow" was all Jane could say. She had never seen anyone airboard so skillfully, espcially for someone who had gone a while without practicing.

((Aw, thanks!))

A huge grin was threatening to float right away from her face, and Sevania laughed. "You're good too!" she pointed out, not wanting to seem stuck up.

"Oh, thanks!" said Jane. She tried to remember the first time she tried this sport. She was eight years old and begged her mother to take her to the rec center so she could try. Well, she didn't do as well as she thought she would, and ended up breaking her ankle. When she was sitting in the car on the way home from the crowded hospital she swore to herself that she would perfect it, and be the best air boarder there ever was. "Well, I try my best," se added.

"Your turn again," said Sevania, wanting to see Jane do it agian.

Jane hopped up onto her board and took an unexpected fall onto the floor. She got up again and stepped back onto her board, this time staying on as she made all the turns. She laughed out loud as felt her speed increase. She was going so quickly that the turns made her a little dizzy...

Sevania's eyes could hardly track Jane as she whizzed cleanly around and around, twisting and turning at a ridiculous speed. She laughed with Jane, feeling her own heart leap with her comrades.

Jane came to a stop and stepped off her board. Her heart beat at what seemed to be an impossible pace. "That... was fun," she panted.

"That was awesome!" exclaimed Sevania, hurrying over to where Jane had ended. "You have extraordinary balance!"

Jane couldn't help but smile. Nobody had ever complemented her on her air boarding before. "Thanks! You did great, too!"

"Thank you." Sev stood there for a moment, smiling at Jane, and when it began to get awkward she asked, "Mind if I go again?"

"Yeah, sure," responded Jane.

She patted to make sure her helmet was secure, then got on the board and started off. She got to the fast speed quicker this time, because she was warmed up. Closing her eyes, Sev urged the board even faster. All of her senses were acutely tuned to the pushing pulling of the ever-changing magnets underneath her. She whirled through turn after turn, increasing her speed until she felt she could never stop, never slow down. Sevania laughed out loud as the adrenaline coursed through her veins.

But suddenly the magnets dropped away from underneath her. She hardly had time to register that she must have missed a turn before her body was flying through the air, the board left long behind. The momentum flung her fifteen feet to crash painfully into the wall with a dull thunk that could only have been her head. The ship's gravity took hold then, pulling her down to the padded ground, and Sevania reached out to catch herself instinctively. Mistake. Her wrist could not bear her weight and it snapped back with a sickening crunch. She lay on the ground feeling slightly dizzy and shocked, the pain not yet reaching her brain.

Jane gasped as she watched the whole event take place. She sprinted over to Sevania, who was lying on the other side of the room. "S-Sev? Oh n-no...." she stammered, trying to think of what to do next. She had never been in a situation like this before. Whenever there was an emergency, she always watched an adult or someone with a higher knowledge of the problem fix everything... She snapped out of it and realized that she had been sitting there for almost a minute.... "Roc! Get the Sick House staff down to the Airboarding track right now! Sev's crashed, and has a broken wrist! And possibly a concussion... have them bring a stretcher too because I'm not quite sure if she's conscious..." Jane paused for a moment, then yelled, "AND NO JOKES, COMPUTER BOY!"

The pain coursed through her nerves, then, and Sev gasped at the shock. Quickly and mentally she assessed the damage. Her wrist was broken for sure. Her head felt... funny. Concussion? "Wait. I'm okay. It's my wrist and my head," she said quickly, hoping to keep Jane from having a panic attack.

Jane let out a long, slow breath. She was relieved that Sevania was alright, but maybe she had overreacted just a bit."Well, I just told Roc to have the Sick House staff come down here... Are you well enough to walk down there with me? Or if you're not we can have them come..," Jane trailed off, thinking about what had just happened. "That was a pretty hard crash, so you should just lie down and have them come here. I don't know any first aid or anything about concussions..." she looked around and called out, "Are they coming, Roc?"

"Hard crash. Right," she mumbled, suddenly having a hard time focusing. But Sev hung on to consciousness so she wouldn't frighten Jane. The padded room went blurry and then clear, then the colors went fuzzy again. "Listen. Head... unclear... Sick House... fine." Her speech, even to her, sounded slurred. "I'll be.. fine..."

Jane cringed and put her face in her hands. What would she do? Sev said "Sick House...fine". What did that mean? Was she talking about going to the Sick House, or having them come? Jane began to panic, her breath quick and rushed. Where was the Sick House staff? Didn't Roc let them know what was happening? What was he doing? "Roc... we defenitely need the Sick...House staff...now!" she called out between gasps. Now Jane was having a panic attack. Sevania was in front of her, in some state of semi-conciousness, and Roc wasn't responding. Had he malfunctioned? "Roc?" she called out. Maybe an off-duty Sick House worker was nearby. "Help!"Jane called. "Someone please come and help!" she shifted nervously from foot to foot, then glanced uncertainly at Sev, hoping Roc or anyone would answer.

"I'm fine!" Jane's voice was too loud, snapping Sevania out of her groggy stupor. She unwillingly sounded irritated.

"They're coming," reported Roc. "Don't panic, Jane."

Melody came running into the room huffing. "Who's hurt?" she asked.