i wasn't looking for this | Glowfic Constellation

The ship is much more noticable than a distant figure with wings! Some people notice it. Cam's moving too fast to see their reactions in much detail

It rings for a while. Once Nick does answer, ".......Is it on?"

from_scratch

"The phone or the plan to put a shell around the planet?"

"The phone, and the answer is now obvious."

from_scratch

"Ah-huh. The plan is off, alas, there's a lot of magma and earthquakes that might wreck a shell and thereby let toxic air out, no fun at all."

"I told you the surface was a probably no-go. Worth checking, but you checked and now we know. Are you going for the stargate now?"

from_scratch

"I thought I might find a town and meet some more people but I might just go straight for the gate if I don't run across one soonish."

"What's your altitude? Towns tend to congregate at one fifty to two hundred. They're heavy."

from_scratch

"Approaching that. I may be too far away from the equator, I hopped around a lot to get a variety of samples." Cam turns.

"Do you know your latitude?"

Yeah, the weather isn't very pleasant here. Instead of aesthetically pleasing gentle flowing arrangements of clouds it seems to be rather stormy. The occasional ship or hut-on-an-island is visible, but it's not densely populated.

from_scratch

"Not precisely, my latitude figuring stuff isn't calibrated for the planet. I can find the equator again though."

"You'll find towns soon enough. You were right about your books being tricky to understand, by the way. Who would have guessed that electricity and magnetism are the same thing?"

from_scratch

"I can answer questions as long as you've got me on the phone."

He has a list of questions. Some about the introductory texts, some about the 3D printer, some about the operation of the computer.

Before he's done answering them all, he notices that it indeed gets more crowded as he approaches the equator.

That probably qualifies as a town - a dozen or so islands tied together with thick webs of rope. Stacks of houses that almost look like apartments densely laid out on top the islands and built into their sides, with five ships anchored above the houses. Gardens are here and there, and two plumes of smoke emerge from a pair of chimneys.

from_scratch

Anywhere he can land?

Not really. There are towers for anchoring lighter-than-air ships and open space for gliders, but not something as large as his shuttle.

from_scratch

And he doesn't super want to just drop the ship and let it subduct. Bad habit to get into, that.

He tells its autopilot to park it in orbit, and while it's doing that he hops out and glides to the town under his own power.

The first one to notice him is a little boy. He waves. The boy's parents are more cautious, and haul him inside their house.

Other people notice him soon after, and not all of them hole themselves up. A teenager working in a garden shouts, "You an angel? I thought those're made up!"

from_scratch

"I've never actually been called an angel before!" remarks Cam.

"Person with wings is an angel! Did you get 'em just now or something?"

from_scratch

"Nope, I've had them for a while, but where I'm from angel means feathers in particular."

"That makes no sense. You from the other side of the storms or something? Looks like mayor's interested in you."

Important Looking Adults are starting to gather below.

"Sarah! Come down, please. We don't know what this is about."

"Tch." She leaps off the roof, grabbing a zipline on the way.

from_scratch

Cam waits politely, tail swishing.

After a while, the Important Adults select someone to come address him. "Hello, stranger. What brings you to our town?"

from_scratch

"It's the first one I saw. I want to learn more about the place."