《Being Human》21. Space Race

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Y/n and the Crystal Gems arrive on a Warp Pad, leading a series of other Warp Pads.

"Woah." Steven said impressed.

"That's a lot of wrap pads..." Y/n let out quietly.

Garnet steps on a Warp Pad. "Inactive." She says and Steven proceeds to paste a sticker of a crying apple on the Warp Pad.

Amethyst jumps onto another Warp Pad. "Inactive!" She calls out.

Steven runs over and paste another sticker on the Warp Pad, this time of a crying crossiant.

Pearl was standing on another Warp Pad looking down at it in disappointment. "Inactive."

Steven pastes another sticker of a crying pear on the Warp Pad.

"Do we have to check all of them? They're all still inactive, like always." Amethyst asks wnating to slack off.

"We need to make sure." Garnet tells her.

"I've never seen so many Warp Pads before!" Steven comments as he gets two stickers. "I hope I have enough of these Crying Breakfast Friends stickers."

"Where do all these Warp Pads go, anyway?" Y/n asks as he looks down at one of them.

Pearl sits on the Warp Pad she was standing on. "Well, these Warp Pads were used to travel off-planet. They were our connection to the Gem Homeworld and to Gem-controlled planets all over the universe." Pearl explains.

"Gem Controlled planets?" Y/n asks but he is interrupted by Steven gasping.

"You mean we could go anywhere we want in outer space?" Steven asks excited.

"Yeah... We could do that if they weren't all busted." Amethyst says shooting down Steven's hopes.

"It's true. The Galaxy Warp have all been inactive for thousands of years." Pearl says sadly.

"Can't you fix them?" Y/n asks now.

"... No." Garnet answers.

"It's fine." Pearl chuckles a little. "I'll always have my memories of other worlds. But now I'm here. On Earth. Forever."

"With us!" Steven cheers as he stands besides Y/n.

"Right, with you." Pearl says as she sadly smiles, She gets up and place her hands On Y/n and Steven's heads before she walks up to a broken Warp Pad larger than the rest. "It really is incredible out there, though. I wish you two could see it." She says as she closes her eyes and remembers it fondly.

Steven, seeing that the Warp Pad is visibly broken, pastes a sticker of a crying waffle on it.

It was the next day and Greg and Steven are watching 'Crying Breakfast Friends!' outside. On-screen, various breakfast-themed characters are crying, such as Crying Waffle, Crying Pear, Sad Apple and Spilled Milk.

"Stay tuned for another episode of Crying Breakfast Friends!" The Narrarator says on the tv as it cuts to a commercial.

"Yeesh. I must be getting old. I used to like cartoons." Greg comments.

"Hey, Dad, did you know the Gems used to travel all over outer space?" Steven asks his dad.

Greg chuckles. "Yeah. They're pretty far out, son."

"I think Pearl really misses going out there." Steven says as he sees a comet print on Greg's Van and it gives him an idea. "Dad, can you help me and Y/n build a spaceship?"

Greg looks a little skeptical. "... You know, that might be a little outside my skill set. How 'bout a bunk bed with wings? I could probably do that."

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"No way! We could totally build a spaceship!" Steven says as he stands up on a chair. "People have done it before, and we're people!"

"We are people." Greg repeats.

"And Pearl would love it so much to see space again." Steven carries on.

Greg seems to think for a moment before he gives in a with smile. "... Sure. Why not? How hurt could we get?"

After Steven had managed to convince Y/n to help them Greg had brought Y/n and Steven to a barn full with various junk.

"My aunt and uncle had a great love for aviation and each other. They cherished the years they spent together, and they held on to every belonging they ever owned, kind of like me and my storage shed." Greg says to the two.

"That sounds an awful lot like a hoarding disorder..." Y/n comments as he looks at all the junk.

"I'm starting to think our family has a problem." Greg says.

"This is great! I hereby declare this barn to be Universe, L/n & Universe's Universal Space Travel HQ!" Steven declares now.

Steven and Greg begin to draw on a chalkboard and begin to build a spaceship using wood and duct tape. Steven then bring Pearl, covering her eyes, to the barn as a surprise.

"Okay, now." Steven lifts his hands off Pearl's eyes.

"U, Y/I, U, U Space Travel." Pearl reads a sign on the barn. "What is this?" She asks.

"We built a spaceship!" Steven declares.

"A spaceship?" Pearl asks.

Steven jumps down from Greg's arms now and he run to gestures to a wooden box on wheels, with wings taped on the side. "A Spaceship!"

Pearl raises an eyebrow as she looks at it. "A spaceship..."

"I want to go on record of saying I'm just here to give moral support." Y/n starts. "I had nothing to do with building this."

Steven was now sat in the "spaceship", as he prepares to pilot it down the hill by the barn.

"Now, remember, Steven, if you run into any trouble out there, you can always bail. There's never any shame in bailing." Greg says to Steven.

Steven nods. "Fatherly advice understood! Thank you, Dad." STeven says saluting. "Light the engines." He cries out.

"Roger that!" Greg says as he lights a sparkler and places it at the back of the "spaceship"

"This is really not a good idea..." Y/n says as he looks down the hill.

"Next stop: Outer space!" Steven cries.

"Blast-off!" Greg joins in as he pushes the "spaceship" with his legs and Steven rides down the hill. He begins riding towards a ramp at the bottom of the hill, when the "spaceship" starts falling apart.

"Aah!" Pearl panics.

"Steven Bail!!" Y/n calls out to him.

"No shame!" Steven cries as he jumps out of the spaceship.

The spaceship continues to fly down the hill before it rams into the ramp and breaks into pieces.

"I think your calculations may have been off." Pearl says to Greg now.

"Well, they can't be off if you don't do any." Greg replies.

The four were now back at the bar as Pearl points at Steven's drawing on the chalkboard. "Did you really think this was gonna work?"

"Mnh-mnh-mnh." Steven & Greg shrugs in unison.

Pearl flips the other side of the chalkboard and starts drawing. "Here, look. You need smooth, curving surfaces. Otherwise, you're never gonna get enough speed to break Earth's gravitational pull. Probably swept-back wings for supersonic flight, airtight cockpit with ejector seat, and we'll need some serious engines, or maybe rockets would be better.

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"I vote rockets!" Steven is quick to say.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec. We're not actually talking about building something like this, right?" Greg says not wanting Pearl and Steven to get carried away now.

"What? This?!" Pearl asks as she reveals a detailed diagram of an actual spaceship on the chalkboard. "Of course not. That would be ridiculous." Pearl says before she looks at the board again before she looks at all the junk items in the barn. "I mean, yes, theoretically, it's not a stretch. You've got plenty of spare parts here, albeit for incredibly primitive propulsion-based space travel. The idea is ludicrous. It would never work, although... Several humans, a monkey, and a dog did make it into space. I don't know why I've never even thought of it before. This could actually work!" She begins to get excited.

Steven and Greg look at each other while Y/n looks at the board.

"Um...Pearl..." Y/n starts to say.

"I hear what you're saying, and I agree..." Pearl interrupts him. "It would be incredibly dangerous; a fool's errand." Pearl pulls a lob of stuffing out of Greg's seat. "This chair is disgusting. But aren't the true fools the ones who don't seize an opportunity, despite all the inherent risks?" She hands Greg the lob of stuffing. "And I'd be able to show Y/n and Steven the wonders of the cosmos! And maybe just for a second, from a distance, I could see what's been going on without me. "All right! Let's do it!" Pearl says excitedly as Steven bounces up from his seat.

"U, Y/I, U, U Space Travel, GOOOOO!" Steven cheers.

Y/n want to dissuade Pearl and Steven from trying to build an actual rocket but when he saw how excited they looked he could only sigh and give in.

Y/n, Steven and Greg were helping Pearl to construct a spaceship with various spare parts from the barn. While Y/n was helping Pearl weld some pieces of metal together. Steven used a blowtorch to make a grilled cheese with Greg.

They even constructed a small seated glider for Steven to ride in.

Steven was in the skies piloting the glider. "Waaa-hooooo!" He cheers as he flies over the barn.

On the ground Y/n was watching with a pair of binoculars in suprise that the glider was working.

"Ground Control to Mach 2. Come in, Mach 2. How you doing, buddy?" Greg says into a walkie talkie.

"Aah! Aah-aah-aah-aah! Woow!" Steven laughs but it sounds like muttering in the wind.

"Do you think we're maybe taking this a little too far?" Y/n asks cautiously now.

"We're not even close to being done." Pearl says as she notes something down on a clipboard.

"We're not?" Greg asks.

"Okay, Steven." Pearl says into a headset she was wearing. "Go ahead and bring her down."

Steven lands the Mach 2 smoothly on the ground, and it collapses immediately, ejecting Steven out of the seat.

"Ugh!" Steven groans a little before he raises his arms and cheers. "Wooo!"

"Was it supposed to fall apart like that?" Greg asks Pearl.

"Don't worry. This was just to test my engine concept. I'll work out the kinks in the next one." Pearl assures Greg.

"Hang on, hang on. Next one?" Greg says taken aback.

"Is there a shop in town that carries F-1 single-nozzle liquid-fueled rockets?" Pearl asks Y/n and Greg now.

Greg is startled and shocked. "You really are serious!" He cries.

"Of course! We're also going to need a spacesuits for Y/n and Steven so they doesn't freeze or explode." Pearl says now and Steven imitates an explosion.

"Whoa! You are not taking them to space." Greg says becoming irritated now.

"Yes, I am." Pearl says not understanding what Greg meant.

"No! I'm not allowing it!" Greg says

"But why? This is why we founded Universe, L/N & Universe." Steven says to Greg.

"Steven, you and Y/n are grounded." Greg says now.

"What?!" Steven cries in shock.

"Umm, You don't have the authority to ground me." Y/n points out.

"No, no. I mean you're grounded! You don't get to leave Earth." Greg says now.

"Oh... What?!" Steven cries again.

"As C.E.O. and Supreme Space Commander, I hereby ground this astronaut and cancel this mission." Greg declares now.

"Aw, man! Stupid company by-laws." Steven grumbles.

"Hey! Who made you C.E.O.?" Pearl asks annoyed.

Greg tilts head towards Y/n and Steven. "They did."

"Fine! If none of you will help, I'll just do it by myself! Not like it'll be much different." Pearl says angrily as she storms off into the barn and shuts the door.

"Pearl!" Steven calls out

"I'm sorry, you two but. Sometimes you just got to know when to bail." Greg says to Y/n and Steven.

Steven sighs and looks down disappointed now.

"Maybe Greg's right Steven, I mean I'm pretty sure the Dog Pearl mentioned earlier died on that trip to Space."

"Why did you decide to help Y/n?" Steven asked.

"Well, I never really thought we'd be trying to build an actual spaceship. I thought it might help cheer Pearl up." Y/n admits to Steven now before he looks up at the sky. "But the real reason is because I secretly love space. I've always wanted to see the stars."

Greg was fast asleep in his van, parked next to the barn. Y/n was sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground next to the van while Steven sleeps on top of the van in his caterpillar sleeping bag, when Pearl comes in and pokes him in the face.

"M-mm... Wha?" Steven stammers shooting up and it wakes Y/n up too.

"...Pearl?" Y/n asked rubbing his eyes.

"Shh!" She shushes them before beginning to start whispering. "You twoWant to see something really cool?"

Greg snoring and sleep-talking* "No. Don't give him the banana. That's what he wants." Greg says in his sleep before he snores.

Pearl, Y/n and Steven sneak past Greg and towards the barn. Pearl opens the barn door to reveal a completed spaceship.

"Presenting the brand-new ballistic-flight-capable Universe Mach 3!"

Steven gasps and shouts "Spaceship!" and runs to the spaceship, laughing happily

"Wait, Steven. Keep your voice down." Pearl reminds him.

"You already completed it?" Y/n whispers to Pearl who nods proudly.

"Whoa! It's even got the logo from the van!" Steven points out.

"And if your dad asks, we'll say we borrowed it." Pearl says to Steven.

Steven climbs into the cockpit of Mach 3 now. "Whoa. Look at all the buttons! I must press them all."

"If you want, Y/n, Steven, we could take her out for an engine check." Pearl says as she changes her outfit into a space suit. "It'll be quick."

Steven looks down at Y/n excitedly and Y/n looks up at the spaceship with hesitation before he looks back at the desperate Steven. "I'm not sure if this is such a good idea..."

"Come on Y/n! Pearl said it will be quick, besides you told me you've always wanted to see the stars." Steven says to him making it harder for Y/n to try say no and soon his curiosity wins out.

"Alright, Alright. Just a quick trip okay? I really... don't want to get in trouble with Greg." Y/n says.

The place begins to rumble, waking Greg up in his van.

"Wha?!" He says shooting up. "What the...?" He notices his van has been tampered with and is now missing a part of the side where is logo is. "Pearl!" He cries out before he gets out of the van and runs up to sees Steven, Y/n and Pearl piloting the Mach 3 away. Steven! Y/n! What are you two doing?!"

Greg chases after the Mach 3, when the rockets fire up, creating a blast that knocks Greg back. Greg quickly gets up and runs towards the barn. Pearl begins to gliding the Mach 3 over the ocean.

Steven was sat in Y/n's lap who in turn was sat in Pearl's own lap thanks to the face there was only one seat in the small cockpit.

"Wow! Look! You can see the temple!" Steven points out to Y/n as the two look down at it.

"Mm-hmm." Pearl hums as she adjusts the ship controls.

"Hey, can you hear me!? Where do you three think you're going!?" Greg voice could suddenly be heard over the radio's transmission.

"Hey, Dad, guess where I am."

Greg was back on the ground using a walkie-talkie. "I know where you are! It's where you're going that concerns me!"

"Don't worry, Dad. This is just a quick test flight." Steven says.

"This will be perfectly fine, just a pop over to the nearest star system. I'll give them back in 50 years." Pearl says calmly.

"50 years!?" Y/n cries now.

"What?! I'll be dead in 50 years!" Greg shouts. "Pearl, you bring them back right now, or I'll..."

Pearl turns off her end of the transmission.

" Hello? Hello?!" Greg calls into the walkie talkie but he gets no response.

"Pearl, We're not supposed to go. Pearl!" Steven tells her but Pearl ignores his cries.

"Oh, this is so exciting! Steven you and Y/n, you're gonna love it." She says and plays a keyboard panel, activating the boosters. "Hang on tight!" She tells the two.

The Mach 3 darts across the ocean and then upwards into the sky. Pearl and Steven pilot all the way to the atmosphere of the Earth, when Steven see a piece of scrap metal flies by.

"What was that?" Steven asks worried.

The warning lights in the cockpit begin to flash on. More scrap metal pieces are seen falling off the Mach 3 as it penetrates the atmosphere.

"Pearl!?" Y/n asks becoming more worried himself.

"We can make it. We're almost there." Pearl says becoming determined.

The Mach 3 begins to fall apart with visible tears in its shell.

"Pearl!" Y/n shouts.

"I'm gonna show it to you." Pearl says not wanting to give up.

Y/n looks around in panic and see a release mechanism. He pulls on it and it releases the glass hatch covering the cockpit, exposing him, Steven and Pearl to the atmosphere.

"Y/n! What are you doing?!" Pearl cries.

"Y/n's right we need to go, Pearl! We're not gonna make it!" Steven says in agreement with Y/n as he looks around worried.

"But we're almost there!" Pearl says looking up at the stars.

"Pearl! Steven and I are going to die if we don't bail!" Y/n shouts at her getting her attention. "I know you miss space, and I know you worked hard, but sometimes... You just got to know when to bail." Y/n shouts to her over the howling wind.

Pearl sheds a tear as she gazes up to space. She then pulls a lever on the side of the chair she is sitting on and hugs Y/n and Steven tightly. The chair ejects the three of them out of the spaceship just as it explodes.

"Nooooo!" Greg back on the ground cries as he scans the sky with his binoculars. "Please-please-please-please-please!" He begs before he sees the ejected Pearl, Y/n and Steven, floating back to Earth with a parachute. "Ahhhh... " He kneels on the ground. "Ohhhhh..." He holds his chest. "Ohh, these kid's are killing me..." He says before he lays down and cowers. "Ughhhh..."

Pearl looked sad as she was floating back to Earth with Steven and Y/n in her grasp.

"I'm so sorry. I almost got us killed." She says closing her eyes now realising she had taken it too far.

"I'm used to it. I'm sorry I couldn't help you go to space. We'll get there someday... I promise." Steven says to her.

"You know, I think I'd rather be here on Earth." Pearl says now as she looks out to the sky over the ocean.

"With us!" Steven says.

"Yeah." Pearl smiles a little tiredly. "With you."

"Sometimes, the best travels, are those we can only dream about." Y/n says to Pearl now.

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