Difference between revisions of "Summary:Skyward"

 

=== Chapter 12 ===

Spensa wakes up in the ship's cockpit, noting the time to be 0430. She notices an odd blue and yellow [[Doomslug|slug-like creature]] nearby in the cockpit. She considers eating it, but then decides against the notion, thinking that its bright colors might indicate poison. Spensa sets a snare for rats, then starts poking around at the ship, hoping to fix or at least properly examine it. She finds a large black box whose function she doesn't recognize. Spensa then hooks up her light-line's power matrix to the ship, but then realizes that it is too weak to make the ship's functions run. Looking back up, she sees that the slug has now gotten into the ship's open innards, making Spensa wonder how it got there so fast, since she doesn't see any other similar slugs around. The snare catches a rat, and Spensa skins, guts, and cooks it. She wonders if she is really going to live in a cave and scavenge for her food, but decides that since Ironsides expects her to commute back home each night, Spensa is going to be defiant and try to retain some control over her life.

 

=== Chapter 13 ===

Early in the morning, Spensa heads to the lavatory, to which she is allowed access, to wash her clothes. Afterwards, she heads to class, and realizes that Rig is late again. Cobb comes in and notices the empty seat, then understandingly nods at Rig when he finally arrives. Rig turns to leave, and Cobb notes that there is always a cadet who decides that they aren't pilot material after their first fight. Spensa chases after him, asking on why he is leaving and giving up. Rig tells her that he realizes that he wasn't fit for battle, and that he should probably find another more suitable job. Cobb calls her back into the classroom, then starts having the cadets practice flying in unison. They spend the morning practicing turning, with Bim constantly asking about weapons. Hurl flies into FM's ship, causing both to crash. Cobb tells the cadets to eject if they get into uncontrolled spins like what happened earlier. As they practice landing their ships, Cobb emphasizes ejecting in the case of an emergency, though Spensa doesn't take it to heart because she feels that she will get kicked out of Flight School if she ejects as a cadet, and can worry about it after becoming a full pilot. As everyone else goes to the mess hall for lunch, Cobb talks with Spensa and learns that she didn't take the elevator home to Igneous last night because she lives in the cave nearby and that she forgot to bring lunch for the day. Spensa takes a walk in the orchard outside the DDF base, looking up at the debris field above and wondering about the people that came before. As she heads back to class, Spensa notices some small vehicle hangars, one of which has Jorgen's blue hovercar in it. Heading in, Spensa sees Morningtide eating lunch alone and tries to talk, but the other girl doesn't respond much. The other cadets come in, and Kimmalyn gives Spensa a roll to make up for her missing lunch. Cobb asks the cadets about their feelings before practicing more turns. Among other things, Morningtide's response reveals that she can't speak English very well, and FM is uncomfortable with the DDF's military culture.

 

=== Chapter 14 ===

A week later, Cobb lectures the cadets on handling g-forces and GravCaps. He finishes and orders them to start practicing with destructors. Nearly everyone aims poorly and fails to hit any simulated Krell ships, but Kimmalyn manages to easily shoot down several of them. Bim asks to practice dogfighting, and Cobb makes the Krell ships start attacking them. Spensa and Jorgen last the longest, with Jorgen taking 17 seconds longer to go down. After everyone gets shot down, Cobb explains that since the Krell have superior ships, DDF pilots are at a disadvantage in using destructors alone. He then touches on the Inverted Magellan Pulse, or IMP, which takes down all shields in a very small area. Cobb then discusses the third and last weapon used by DDF pilots, the light-lance, and points out that light-lances are similar to light-lines, like the one Spensa has. He says that the light-lance will be their best weapon, since the Krell often attack during debris falls, and a skilled pilot can outmaneuver the Krell, whose ships don't have light-lances. Cobb tells the cadets that they will be spending the next month training with the light-lance. Spensa is quite enthusiastic about this.

 

=== Chapter 15 ===

Spensa plugs a power matrix from an old water heater into the ship, talking to Doomslug as she does so. She realizes that it is not powerful enough to make the ship run. Spensa leaves the cave to head to class. In class, the cadets practice hitting floating pieces of debris using their light-lances in a simulator. Spensa manages to hit a chunk, but crashes her ship in the process. Cobb stands nearby, watching the cadets' actions on the simulator. He tells Morningtide, who is timidly hovering at the edge of the simulated debris fields, to participate more, like the other cadets. Spensa helps explain Cobb's orders to Morningtide, before getting back in herself. As she puts on her helmet, Spensa notices strange bumps in it. She asks Cobb about it, and he informs her that Medical ordered it swapped to monitor her bioreadings, but only for Spensa herself and none of her flightmates. Spensa is uncomfortable with this revelation, but gets back into the simulation anyway. Cobb gets into a discussion with Bim, in which Bim asks why they are practicing with light-lances instead of dogfighting. Cobb then puts up a projection of five golden rings, and sets up a contest in which the cadet that flies through the most rings in three runs will get an extra dessert, and adds that a cadet's score is stuck at whatever they achieved beforehand with no tries afterwards if they crash. The reward is useless to Spensa, since she doesn't eat with the others. Jorgen hangs back and observes Eventually, it comes down to Spensa, who has finished her third run with ten points, realizing that Jorgen, currently with eight points, will win if he completes the third run he is starting. She tries to stop it by crashing her ship straight into Jorgen's mid-run, ending it before he can claim enough points to beat her. Jorgen is furious, to Spensa's satisfaction. Cobb orders a break. Kimmalyn congratulates her on winning the game. Bim starts talking to Spensa about her interest in ancient heroes, and she realizes he is awkwardly trying to flirt with her. She tries to flirt back when Jorgen reveals to everyone that Spensa is Chaser's daughter. They have a confrontation on it, before Cobb orders everyone to get back to their exercises. At the end of the day, an angry Spensa steals the power matrix from Jorgen's hovercar.

 

=== Chapter 16 ===

Spensa wakes up in the cockpit, and sees the power matrix from Jorgen's car she stole last night. She panics thinking that she might be caught and get kicked out of Flight School for the act, but nobody seems to catch on and she goes through the day as normal. Spensa notices that nearly everyone seems to be dancing around her being the daughter of a coward, other than Kimmalyn, who simply notes that this might be what causes Spensa's attitude and comforts her. At the end of the day, Spensa heads back to the ship and installs the power matrix. The ship's systems start up and it greets Spensa, who realizes that it can talk.

 

=== Chapter 17 ===

The ship introduces itself as MB-1021, or M-Bot, a long-distance stealth ship, and reveals that most of its data banks are corrupted, so it doesn't remember much of its past. The only record M-Bot has is the last order from his old pilot Commander [[Spears]], which is "Lie low, M-Bot. Take stock, don't get into any fights, and wait for me here." M-Bot reveals that he doesn't recognize the term for the Krell. M-Bot determines from some isotopes that it has been 172 years since it crashed, to the 80 years since the ''Defiant'' crash that Spensa knows about. M-Bot then discusses its routines for emotion and the single intact memory bank it has other than for basic functions, a database for cataloging fungal organisms. Spensa is confused by M-Bot's desire to categorize mushrooms. She starts wondering if M-Bot holds the answers to questions about their history, despite the damaged memory banks. M-Bot notes that many of the ship systems, such as the weapons system and cytonic hyperdrive, are offline, though a few, like the communications system, still work. Spensa realizes that she can't fix the ship on her own, and decides to get help. Some time later, in the middle of the night, Spensa manages to reach Rig's apartment, and wakes him to show him the ship. He is a bit uncomfortable but follows along anyway. As they enter the tunnels, Rig tells Spensa that ever since he dropped out of pilot school, he's had to decide between a dozen job offers in two months' time. He expresses worry at not finding something that suits him. They eventually reach M-Bot's chamber, and Rig is awed by the sight.

 

=== Chapter 18 ===

Spensa helps Rig check over M-Bot, but starts dozing off later on. She wakes up around six in the morning, and starts talking with Rig on whether they should turn M-Bot in to the DDF. M-Bot expresses irritation at being talked about as though he is not present, and says that while he is a logic-driven machine, he has simulated emotions. Rig leans towards revealing the ship, while Spensa advocates keeping it hidden for now and trying to fix it themselves. Rig is convinced to help repair M-Bot, then remembers getting a job offer from the Engineering Corps, which supervise starship repair and design. He says that he might be able to get the knowledge of how to repair the ship from an engineering internship, though Spensa will have to scavenge for spare parts to use. M-Bot spots Doomslug, and comments on her being an interesting-looking fungus. Rig is creeped out, but Spensa tells him to leave Doomslug alone. M-Bot tells Spensa that he has lost his master and original purpose, as well as the fact since his last set of orders were to lie low, Spensa cannot be allowed to reveal the ship to the DDF. Spensa contemplates this issue, but is interrupted by M-Bot's sensors reporting a force of 43 Krell ships approaching. She realizes that Skyward Flight, having gotten enough training experience to start participating in battles in Ironsides's view, might be asked to fight, and decides to head back to base.

 

=== Chapter 19 ===

Spensa runs for Alta Base, thinking Ironsides made it Skyward Flight's turn this time to participate in the battle. She returns to a single ship on a launchpad, meaning that she is late and everyone else in her flight has already taken off. In a hurry, Spensa skips putting on her pressure suit, and contacts Jorgen before taking off. Eventually, she reaches the site of the battle, and Jorgen tells her to help Morningtide, who has picked up a tail. Morningtide tries to dodge and throw them off, but the three Krell ships trailing her manage to shoot her down. Spensa tries to help by hitting one of the Krell ships with her light-lance for another pilot to shoot down, but Morningtide is already gone. Spensa flies back to Jorgen, containing her grief. The two use their light-lines to send a Krell ship into debris before Cobb tells them to remain in defensive positions. They then notices Kimmalyn, who has frozen up with Morningtide's death and doesn't have a wingmate. Jorgen goes to cover her, telling Spensa to go help Bim. Spensa gets a tail, which she gets rid of by making a good maneuver, feeling as though she is part of the ship. Cobb congratulates her, then tells her to get to Bim, who he says is too overeager. Just then, a Krell bomber with a lifebuster bomb is spotted. Cobb tells the cadets to stay back and let the full pilots handle the situation. Bim insists he can hit the bomber, and Cobb tries to check for orders instead of immediately rejecting the idea, which makes Bim think that he has permission to engage, and asks Spensa to follow him. Cobb warns them that the bomb looks bigger than usual, but Bim is already flying over. Four escort ships peel away from the bomber, and their destructor blasts overwhelm Bim's ship's shields, shooting him down. A chunk of the wreckage hits Spensa's ship and it starts blaring warnings, but she manages to stabilize herself. The Krell ships disengage, and Ironsides decides not to pursue, since there are too many of them. Jorgen orders everyone to confirm their status, and everyone other than Morningtide and Bim responds, before they fall into formation. Skyward Flight returns to base, short two members.