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[obeir]

KD6-3.7
3313 Creampuff Way


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[devoutish]

Yeah. We manage. Royce is better at it than I am.

[He says, with a rueful little smile.]

But I do all right.

[obeir]

I'd offer to give you both a ride over and back, but Royce seems to be afraid of flying. How do you do with it?

[ Assuming it's something Alfie's ever experienced before. Maybe during one of the Meadous world hops? ]

[devoutish]

I've never tried it, personally - but you've got something that flies, doesn't it? A car?

[Give him a ride, K!]

[obeir]

[ That's promising, that Alfie's immediate reaction isn't "oh no flying death trap." ]

I do. Maybe you can talk him into trying it too. [ Since Royce might be a little more willing to go if Alfie's with him, K figures. ] It's interesting, seeing all of the Meadous from above — provided you're not afraid of heights. [ Like Connor unfortunately is. But at least even he's been willing to go flying with K. ]

[devoutish]

We could give it a go.

[Alfie says, looking down at the swimsuit in his hands.]

Before swimming.

[obeir]

If you're willing to take your chances with a slightly drunk pilot. [ K says with a small smile. Fair (and largely unnecessary) warning. Autopilot functionality exists, and it isn't as though the Meadous airspace is ever congested — he could fly with his eyes closed and never run into anything. ]

[devoutish]

Do you think we should wait?

[obeir]

[ The look he gives Alfie suggests waiting would be the responsible thing to do. But it's also kind of nice, being able to choose to act otherwise. ]

No, there's no real danger here. Besides, I can fly better drunk than most human pilots do sober. Come on. Bear can come too. [ But hopefully he doesn't get airsick, since the backseat windows don't open. ]

[devoutish]

Mm--

[Alfie looks down thoughtfully at his dog.]

Let's leave Bear on the ground, shall we?

[Better to do that than risk a large panicking animal in the backseat.]

[obeir]

[ Probably just as well, for Bear's sake. The car is parked beside K's home, and a palm scan unlocks the scissor doors — that open vertically rather than outward. Before K gets in, he drapes the beach towels over his seat so his skin won't stick unpleasantly to it and gives Bear a last pat (and the last bit of his apple cake slice). They'll be back soon, buddy.

There's an assortment of screens and dials across the dash that are quietly powering on, providing various readouts and navigational help and confirming K's identity as an officer of the LAPD. He swivels a couple of the screens on the passenger side out of the way to make room for Alfie. ]

Don't worry about the door, it'll close on its own. Put on the safety belt. [ It's more of a padded harness than a standard seat belt, and K demonstrates by pulling his on. Notably, there's no steering wheel; only flight sticks and throttle levers, like in traditional aircraft. ]

[devoutish]

[The door is definitely unexpected, and unless K helps him it'll take a minute or so for him to figure it out. The prompt about the seatbelt, too, is a good thing; they didn't exist in Alfie's day, and so the thought hadn't even occurred to him.

Right. Safety belt.

[He sets his towel and suit on the seat next to him, then buckles up. Bear stands watch next to the car, still wagging his tail hopefully.]

I don't suppose I could have a turn at the wheel, after?

[obeir]

[ With both safety belts locked in, the doors begin automatically closing. There's a hiss as the seals engage, followed by a faint judder as the drone attached to the outer roof of the car releases. Because of course K plans to document Alfie's first ride in a spinner. The drone's visual feed pops up on the center screen on the dash: an overhead view of the car. ]

That's a risky proposition. Anything happens to you, I'm the one who'll meet the business end of Royce's knife. [ His tone is dry.

True to his word, he flies well even when inebriated — he initiates takeoff and the ground smoothly falls away, slow and steady, so the g-force is barely felt (and more importantly, so no tea will be spilled). The mark of an experienced pilot. ]

[devoutish]

[Outside the car, Bear goes nuts as they take off, spinning around in circles and barking his head off. Poor boy. Alfie taps on the window, giving him a little wave as they go. The ride is a lot smoother than he'd expected, but even so, he's hanging on to his seat with one hand and the door with the other.]

How is that being done?

[Alfie asks, nodding to the view on the center screen. Get ready for a lot of questions, K.]

[obeir]

There's a drone with a camera out there. [ Which K brings closer to the passenger side window using the controls along the side of the screen. The pilotfish drone remains hovering there, rising in sync with the car, and if Alfie checks the visual feed now he'll see himself displayed on the screen. ]

Useful for navigation and forensics. [ Toggling a few switches changes what's displayed on the screen; from the standard view to infrared, to a type of sonographic imaging (has Alfie ever wanted to see his insides?), to several other modes on the fly. ] I've been using it for aerial photography here. Sort of mapping the world for the museum.

[devoutish]

Is a drone a type of robot or a type of camera?

[Or maybe it's both; it sounds like it might be both. After giving the viewscreen another quick glance, Alfie leans his forehead against his window, looking down at the village below them.]

It really is beautiful, isn't it.

[obeir]

A type of robot. [ And it's probably worth clarifying: ] Not sentient. [ Though the way it can understand a wide array of voice commands and gestures might lead someone to wonder, if they didn't know better.

Once they're well above any potential obstacles, K slows the car's ascent and eases it forward, heading toward the islands first. They're quite a sight seen from above, he thinks. As are the mountains. And the jungle, the ocean... ]

It's incredible. [ He agrees. ] More greenery than I've ever seen in one place before. Life everywhere. A good world to call home. [ But he isn't trying to sell Alfie on the idea — he just sounds grateful to have been allowed to live in such a world. ]

[devoutish]

[As they pass over the beach, they fly over Royce (who, Alfie can see, Bear is running to. Wishing he could roll the window down, he taps on the glass and waves as Royce looks up at the car. Royce, for his part, throws up his hands in exasperation and calls out something inaudible. Oops.]

Do you?

[He asks, eyes darting to K for a moment before he turns back to the window.]

Call it home?

[obeir]

[ Oh hi Royce.

They're going slow enough that there's no real harm in it (unless the wind picks up, anyway), so K lowers the passenger side window. Even if it means Royce is going to yell about the "flying death trap." ]

I do. [ Well. ] Sort of.

I think home's always been a person, more than a place. For me. [ And maybe not just for him, he thinks, eyebrows raised as he glances sidelong at Alfie. ]

[devoutish]

Yeah? Any person in particular?

[Alfie leans out and waves at Royce as they go past, and Royce yells out at him again. Alfie isn't positive, as it's still hard to hear, but he thinks it might be something about putting his arm back in the vehicle before it gets cut off.]

[obeir]

You've met him. [ They haven't exactly been subtle, him and Connor. ] And I think he'd like to remain here. [ And so, too, will K. With the possibility of visiting their friends in their homeworld or even bringing them to the Meadous one day, making it a permanent home is increasingly appealing.

He's trying (and failing) to suppress a smile at Royce's yelling. ] Royce will be surprised when I deliver you home unharmed. Maybe that'll be enough to convince him to come along one day. [ A big maybe, because he isn't really sure what the root of Royce's fear is. The speed? Heights? Technology he doesn't understand? Alfie putting in a good word surely couldn't hurt, either. ]

[devoutish]

Ah.

[He'd been wondering if that would be the answer, though from the phrasing of it (it's always been a person, he'd also wondered if there was someone at home, too.

Royce gets one last wave, and then he pulls his arm in, turning back to K.]

It would take more coaxing than that to get Royce into this thing. He doesn't much like the sound of cars when they're on the ground, much less flying through the air. It's a shame, though, innit; I like this.

[obeir]

Maybe if he's a bit drunk beforehand. [ K suggests lightly. Liquid courage. ] It is too bad, I think he'd like the view.

[ Which Royce will still be able to see in photos, but it isn't quite the same. It's not long before Meulin's tropical islands are below them; the dormant volcano surrounded by springs, the lagoons, the blue crystals glittering in the sunlight. Their vantage point also makes it easy to see the red, orange, and yellow crystals mixed in with the blue within the crater. ]

[devoutish]

He likes this view enough to brave boats for it.

[Alfie says, raising his voice to be heard as he leans out the window again.]

And look at that - I can't blame him for it. I've never seen inside the mountain before.

[obeir]

It's one of the most interesting places to see from above. [ In K's opinion, anyway; the crystals and winding lagoons have made for some striking aerial photos. He carefully steers closer to the volcano, with the little pilotfish drone drifting even closer to the crater, its visual feed offering a colourful view of the crystals within. ]

The jungle's too dense to really see much from up here, other than the oasis. The flower forest and mountains are nice, though. Anywhere in particular you're curious to see?

[devoutish]

Well, you've got more experience.

[He says, settling back comfortably in his seat.]

Why don't you show me the other places that are most interesting to see from above? The mountains are an idea.

[Especially because he doesn't have much experience with them period, even from ground level. He's never been a big hiker.]