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Chapter Fifty-Nine: ‘Thy promised return...’
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The airplane was rather compact, with only a few seats left empty despite having a mere three passengers. Harper looked out the window and across the tarmac. The gray skies were a common fixture of this province, as were the drizzling rain and thick forest in the distance.
They hadn’t wasted any more time trying to convince Kohzek to help them, as apparently it was a rather long flight back to Atreya. Harper had never been there before. He’d barely even heard of it.
‘Are you sure about this?’ said Darsihm privately.
Harper had to conceal his chortle. ‘Would you stop asking me that already? It was your idea to go with them.’
‘I know, but are you REALLY sure? It’s been a while since you’ve seen combat.’
‘Is that your subtle way of tellin’ me I’m fat?’
‘Of course not,’ said Darsihm. ‘We both know I’m not that subtle.’
‘Then quit your worrying.’
‘Now that you mention it, though, you have gotten a little fat.’
‘Thanks.’
Harper wasn’t truly surprised by Darsihm’s sudden hesitance. There weren’t very many reapers who enjoyed flying by plane. As fast as reapers were, they were still outclassed by a typical aircraft, and since they couldn’t actually “sit” within the cabin like a living person could, they had to latch onto their servants in order to not be left behind.
It was a common fear that they would accidentally let go at some point during the journey and thus end up separated from their servants by hundreds or even thousands of kilometers. Of course, they would still be able to communicate with their servants, so meeting up again was an eventuality, but it remained a tremendous inconvenience nonetheless. If it happened over enemy territory, however, then it would be much more than that. Harper recalled various harrowing tales about servants being forced to jump out of a plane in order to go protect their reapers. It was because of such tales that most servant-owned aircraft were not of the leisurely variety, instead opting for an open door through which to jump in the event of such an emergency.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
I'd actually been wondering about that; how the reapers kept up with their servants when they used vehicles and stuff. I know Garovel follows Hector along on his own, so I guess reapers are faster/as fast as a motorcycle? Aircraft though, yeahhh….They go kinda fast. I'd be amazed if the reapers could keep up with them.
ReplyDeleteI do love how realistic you are with this Frosty. A lot of stories, and even movies/shows, kinda forget about physics. I hate physics just as much as the next person who….well, who hates physics, but it's still important! ^_^
<3
ReplyDeleteJumping out of the plane is kinda silly. If the reaper slipped off, then you could just turn the plane around. Just head right for the reaper, slow down and it can latch on again.
ReplyDeleteCommercial planes are NOT built for fast maneuvers. Even if there aren't any circumstances conspiring to keep you from turning the plane around, you kinda want to meet up with your reaper as fast as possible when there's a possibility of enemy action.
ReplyDeleteFixed, thank you.
ReplyDelete‘Of course not,’ said Darishm.
ReplyDeleteDarsihm, you mean?
Yep, fixed now. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI can already see I'm gonna love the conversations between Harper and Darsihm
ReplyDeleteCom and biz jets are not fighters but they are hardly wallowing tubs either, it's not uncommon for commercial aircraft to do a "go-round" if their approach to the airport is messed up.
ReplyDeleteWhat is more interesting is how you would expect to open a door at high altitude, the pressure in the plane will literally vacuum seal the door, which is why aircraft doors open *inwards*.
Or you can go low and slow like the C-130s and CH-47s
Personally, I won't analyse stories that much, ruins the enjoyment. Just don't take it as non-fiction.
In that case servant owned planes really ought to be smaller and more maneuverable, how many servant/reapers would need to be flying at a time any way?
ReplyDeleteI'm now picturing reapers comically hanging on for dear life, the "wind" blowing them back.
ReplyDeleteAlso, noticed the following blip.
If it happened over enemy territory, however, then it would be more much than that. -> If it happened over enemy territory, however, then it would be much more than that.