The Longest Journey

[DGFone]

"Altimeter," Dan replied nonchalantly, "it tells you how high you are." He sighed and turned to look at Simba and Nala. "Now look, I know that learning to read is boring..." Nala gave him a look of disbelief, which he ignored, "hey, I had to learn too. But once you get over that initial step where reading is hard work, you will quickly get better at it and faster." He grinned. "And it will get much more interesting as well. I mean, all the stuff you can read here in the plane, it's useful information, but hardly anything entertaining. So yes, it's boring stuff. But then you can come across stories that you will never have come across without reading them, and those can get really good."

Seeing that Simba and Nala were not buying it, Dan chose a different approach. Pointing at the name of the EFIS, he asked, "what does that say there?"

[Regulus]

"I... ugh... I don't really know," Simba thought. "Is that for navigation?"

He then shifted his attention to another glass panel, which displayed a sort of map, with the plane at the center. "Oh, no, this must be for navigation," Simba corrected himself. "Looks like we're getting close to land, I think. Is that Florida?"

[DGFone]

Dan nodded, impressed by Simba's understanding of abstract representations in the cockpit. "Yeah, you're right. I'm quite impressed, Simba. And yes, that is where we're going," he said, "and what we will be calling home for a good while from now on." He sat back and allowed Simba and Nala to enjoy the view of the approaching landmass from out the cockpit glass.

After a while of sightseeing, Dan got up from out of his seat. "Alright, we're going to land soon," he announced, "better get back and get ready for it. It's not a good idea to be left standing when we touch the ground again." He grinned and started to shepherd Simba and Nala out of the cockpit. "Go on, get out here."

[Regulus]

Dan had very little luck trying to move Simba, who weighed about twice as much, maybe even more. "It's alright, I can sit here," Simba pursuaded, sitting on the floor, behind the pilot's chair. "You know they didn't have lions in mind when they designed the safety belts, anyway." With the alluring Cocoa beach and Cape Canaveral AFS approaching on the horizon, Simba by no means wanted back in the cabin.

[DGFone]

Dan grumbled about Simba's insistence on not moving. "We'll see about that," he told the lion, and lead Nala away, getting her to move by glaring her in such a way that it was made clear to her that doing as Simba was a bad idea.

Nala watched as Dan began to almost wrap her with safety belts, much more than when they took off. "What are you doing?" she asked, "we didn't need so many of these before..."

Dan pulled on the belts tightly. "Well, Simba chose not to listen to me," he said, "so I will simply have to change his mind. Don't worry, I'll be very persuasive." He left Nala, and stepping over Simba, sat back down in the copilots seat, strapping himself in tightly as well. "You sure you like the floor, Simba?" Dan asked, giving the lion one last chance to listen to him. "You have no idea how much you want to do as I told you to do and get yourself strapped in."

[Regulus]

"Actually, I think I do," Simba retorted. "This is where the fun begins, right?"

The pilot, or copilot, more accurately, didn't exactly like Dan's idea. "Oh God, Dan, you're not going to... I mean, this isn't the vomit comet, you know. Besides, we are entering restricted airspace." He then looked at Simba, to try to convince him otherwise.

The pilot pointed to the roof. "You see that? Your ass is going to be up there... if Dan is going to do what I think he'll do."

Simba continued to be stubborn. "You can do it if you want, Dan, but, just remember, this is a civilian jet, not a stunt plane," the pilot reminded. "Be careful not to put too much stress on the wings; you know we can't handle too many G's."

[DGFone]

Dan took control of the plane and right away deviated it away from their course. "It may be restricted where we're going," he told the pilot, "but not yet. And I can always catch up later if we fall too far behind..." He started to climb the plane, getting more air in order to be safe should Simba not change his mind any time soon. "So, Simba," Dan began to say, "about you staying here. You know what happens when you disobey orders? I'm afraid you're going to have to learn the hard way to listen to me when it's a good idea."

He leveled out the plane and smirked at the lion. "Last chance, Simba. Strap yourself in or I show you what those straps are made for." Simba didn't move. Dan sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Simba. But you called it."

Giving the pilot a thumbs up, Dan took the control yoke and pulled on it, sending the plane into spiraling loop as he guided the plane in a controlled roll. The effects were immediate as Simba right away began to slide and tumble around the cabin.

[Regulus]

When the plane leveled out, Simba got back up on his paws. "That wasn't so bad. It's kinda like tumbling down the gorge back home." Before anyone could respond, he decided it would be best to explain. "It's like a family tradition, I guess... we seem to have bad luck with cliffs."

He sat still for a minute, so that he could regain his balance before asking for more. "Can we do it again?"

[DGFone]

Dan raised an eyebrow at Simba. "Didn't have enough? Simba, do you want me to show you what rough is?" He waited for the lion to answer, but Simba remained stubborn in his mindset, even standing up in preparation for the next move.

Dan wasn't going to let Simba win. He dived the plane sharply, causing Simba to stumble and fall, and before Simba could re-orientate himself, Dan was already guiding the jet though a series of maneuvers that Simba simply wasn't able to cope with. And unlike last time, when Dan simply did one roll, he did not stop this time, and made sure to continue spinning and flipping.

For Dan, he was rather enjoying himself. It wasn't often when he got the chance to take a plane though its paces. Nala, on the other hand, was loudly vocalizing her displeasure at having the world spin about. She, unlike Simba though, was strapped in place. Dan watched as Simba tried to hold onto a chair, only to lose his grip and fall hard on his back as the plane flipped yet again.

Dan alternated between watching the instruments and Simba, who was by now begging to visibly suffer. "Had enough yet, Simba?" Dan asked. "You got some quite nasty bumps there. Think those seats look mighty comfortable yet?" Even if it wasn't, it was only a matter of time before Simba would get too dazed or sick to continue fighting. Plane versus lion, the plane would win.

[Regulus]

"I think I'll be fine," Simba said. "I haven't eaten in almost a day." Knowing that as soon as he would sit down, the plane would level out back on course, Simba decided to remain in the cockpit. With the plane running near empty on fuel, and Dan going many hours without sleeping, he knew he would win eventually. "Do it again," he suggested, "and this time, let's stay upside down for a few minutes."