| Date: 17 December 2007
Characters: Diane Holmes, Anne Miles Location: landing strip Link to IJ: thread #12241 |
 Sky Gypsy responded as freely as she ever had, and it was only seconds before the clouds closed in, hiding Owen and 21st century Cardiff from the brief glances that Diane let herself take. She had no clue where the rift would take her, only that it would take her somewhere else, somewhere new, and she needed that. Needed somewhere people weren't going to have expectations of her, somewhere she could be herself. Somewhere she could fly.
There was no indication of any change, even in the atmospheric pressure, no turbulence, no rain, no storms, but the clouds cleared within heartbeats, to a hazy, milky sky Diane didn't recognise, and a clear field below on the edge of a small town that had to be worth landing in. Besides, she was tired, and hungry, and neither of those made for safe flying. Silence closed in suddenly when she killed the ignition, comforting purr of engine gone to leave...nothing. No hint of breeze, no birdsong (though the birds had probably been kept at a distance by Gypsy's engine) and Diane pushed the door open cautiously, climbing down and keeping one hand resting on the fuselage while she looked around for any sign of life. Like the figure approaching from the town-side of the field. |
 Anne had continued on after talking to Tosh, fiddlingwith her watch, and frowning at the lack of response. It showed no time, and it wouldn't send a signal, leaving her with only what she could learn from others, and what she could observe.
She looked up at the sound of an engine, raising an eyebrow at the airship that had appeared in the sky. An atmosphere-only vessal, a airplane, as she recalled from her history lessons. She followed it towards the edge of town, watching as it landed, and walking towards it once the engines had cut off. "Fascinating airship you have. I've not seen one outside of museum images before." Or, at least, not in years, not since her sabbatical, when she'd traveled through history for a little hands-on experience in her field. And then, only briefly, and never this close. |
| "A museum?" Diane pulled her helmet off, shaking her head to free her hair. "Oh, damn." Obviously not 1953, then.
Still, she'd need to find out when, and where, she was. And this woman certainly seemed to appreciate a decent plane. Summoning a smile, Diane held out her hand. "Diane Holmes. And this is the Sky Gypsy." |
| Anne took the hand offered, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Anne Miles." She reached out a hand to touch the side of the airship, her eyes wandering as she looked at the details.
"She's lovely. I never thought I'd have a chance to see an airship like this one up close. There are a few replicas on Earth, but those who own them aren't going to allow someone like me near them." She smiled at Diane, her eyes bright with delight. "This is wonderful." |
| "Isn't she?" The comments about 'on Earth' were concerning Diane more than a little, but as far as she cared, anyone who sounded so enthusiastic about her beloved Gipsy was a decent enough sort. "She's a 1936 de Havilland, named after her engine."
A quick flip of several catches and the casing slipped free, sliding up smoothly. "Six cylinder Gipsy Queen." She lowered her voice. "They say MI6 are using them." |
| "They may have been, but aeronautic history isn't my specialty. I just have a soft spot for the old air-ships." She politely peered into the engine, a bit bewildered by what appeared to be merely a jumble of mechanical bits to her. "I... honestly have not the least idea what I'm looking at. Perhaps you could enlighten me?" She gave Diane a warm, cheerful smile. |
| Diane ran a fond hand over the casing, and closed it again carefully. She wasn't exactly in the habit of giving lectures in engineering, and had obviously been mistaken in assuming that Anne knew more. "It's her heart," she explained briefly, with a warm smile. "One of the most efficient engines for years, so easy to maintain, she's wonderful."
But not much use unless she could find more fuel somewhere, or only for short flights. "You said....history?" |
| Anne nodded. "I'm from the fifty-first century. All of this is a history lesson in action to me. Most of the people who've appeared here, the technology, everything. It's fascinating, all of it." She smiled, her expression animated. "The twentieth and twenty-first centuries were two of intense change, shedding the preconceptions of the several centuries before, advances in technology and science, first contact, all of it." |
| "Ah," was all Diane could manage as a reply at first. At least, the only polite thing. Such casual references to centuries she'd never heard of, the century that was her, well, her home, threw her off balance a little.
"I'm...mid twentieth," she offered, a little hesitantly. "All this is rather new to me." |
| "Oh." Anne gave Diane an apologetic smile. "My apologies if I made it all sound a little daunting. I really don't mean to overwhelm you. It's just been a while since I've had to make practical use of my knowledge of history and that not everyone is as comfortable with the concept of time-travel as a reality." |
| "It's...well. A few weeks since my first." She returned the smile, hands thrusting into her pockets, and set her jaw stubbornly, looking across towards the buildings. "And I wasn't exactly expecting that. So...if you don't mind me asking...when, exactly, are we?" |