Pelican Tracks -- Entry 2
Jun. 17th, 2014 07:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluegargantuaIt's been a busy couple of days and I am about to venture forth into the ruins of an underground city that's probably full of monsters so...now's a good time to catch up on paperwork.
After our exertions around town, we returned to the airfield. Sanna and I wandered over to the bar (or what was left of it) to acquire some booze (or what was left of it). I also wanted to take a quick look around to see if there was anyone in charge or if Nick was around but it was mostly just grunts left to clean up the area. By the time we came back, we discovered that Wrench had made a new friend. His name is Ian and he seems keen to help Wrench out with the engines of the ship. Although I'm a little leery about hiring on someone based on Wrench's enthusiasms, it probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if he had an extra hand that wasn't as likely to steal a shiny bolt as it was to use it.
Considering our ship was the most intact thing on the airfield, we had Sanna shove the Pelican up to the back of the bar and threw an informal cookout for everyone at the field. People scrounged up whatever they could and we grilled it up. In particular, Sanna expressed a desire for "cheese....melted on things" which produced some wildly unlikely combinations, but darn if they didn't hit the spot.
We also did a little more recruiting. Remembering how short-handed we were yesterday it would've been nice to have a little extra help. Ian was a good choice, but it'd be good to have a couple of roustabouts to handle the heavy lifting that would otherwise would fall to me. Asking around a bit we came across Brendan and Brenda (no relation) who were both at loose ends and ready to sign on. I told them to show up the following morning for orientation and that was that. Eventually the party wound down and we got some sleep.
In the morning, our new employees showed up and I provided the basic rundown on employee responsibilities and benefits along with the basic employment forms. We were then visited by the Chief Administrator for the airport, a guy named Dave who was effusive in his praise for us. This will probably get us some free docking which is good but we really need to find some paying gigs. It's a little tough trying to pull money from a town which has recently fallen to pieces but we might be able to work out something in trade. At any rate, there was no work specifically at the airport but Dave gave us a lift into town where we asked around at Town Hall. Eventually, the Mayor himself came out to talk with us. Again, a lot of gratitude for our quick work yesterday. When it came down to open requisitions, there wasn't much but he did need food shipped in from some outlying farms and with our cargo space we could easily handle it. The Mayor told us to come back in a few hours while he sent out some runners to work out where we should go and what we should get.
There was a secondary reason we were in town. Sanna had come with me since her supply of black weed was dangerously low and our transaction had been disrupted by the quake. I was also wondering if Nick might have a little side work for us. Eventually, we found Nick ordering some guys around to get his house fixed. Nice place, not too badly damaged so it was going well and Nick himself was in a halfway decent mood all things considered. So we made the buy and went back to Town Hall where the Mayor laid out the plan of attack. It was going to be a two-day trip to hit up a couple of farms in the area and get the Pelican loaded up.
Sanna and I returned to the airfield to get the crew ready. Brenden managed to borrow a small freight loader from the airport to assist us in moving the food onto the ship. We lifted off and flew over to the first farmstead where...the guy had never seen an air freighter come in for a landing. He was waving and shouting and seemed concerned that we’d land in his fields but there was plenty of space in front of his house and that’s where we put down. After exchanging some pleasantries, we got to work. And when I say we, I mostly mean the roustabouts and the loader. I will say that Sanna was probably our best hire ever (despite her eccentricities), but getting some spare hands to do grunt work is a very close second. As it got dark, the farmers treated us to a nice supper. Everyone (but Wrench and I) was surprised to see Sanna eating everyone else under the table. Well...piloting is hard mental work. They also graciously agreed to let us keep the Pelican parked on their lawn so that we’d be ready to go tomorrow (not much point in flying her around at night).
I had forgotten that common folk rise at an ungodly early hour. However, my annoyance was rather abated when the farmer’s wife (who’d been banging on our cargo hold doors), invited us up for breakfast before we left. Again, it was quite a spread and we were a little more fortified as we lifted off and went on to the next farm. Again, with our extra hands it was no trouble to fill up the rest of the ship. Then it was back to the town center where 30 tons of foodstuffs waltzed out of our holds like magic.
The Mayor was quite pleased with our aid although remuneration is sadly a bit lacking. However, he did mention that a local baron was very interested in our work. The Mayor produced an invitation to dinner in about four days along with a discreet invitation to take advantage of an offer to get some appropriate clothes tailored for us. Although I still have my formal wear, it’d be nice to get something stylish and new. Wrench technically still has his formal wear but has rather grown out of it since he last put it away. Sanna has no formal wear beyond a uniform she’s unlikely to be wearing out in public, but she promised that she “cleans up well”.
This sparked a rather delicate conversation between the two of us. Sanna has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she’s absolutely one of the finest pilots on Ismer. She could fly the Pelican through the eye of a needle. Her heavily medicated state makes not the slightest difference to me. However, when attending a formal dinner, it would be incredibly helpful if she was not ripped to the gills and/or reeking of weed. While the town may not have any money, the Baron certainly does and we’d like to make a good impression (along with not being hounded by the law). I believe we reached an understanding on that point.
The tailor dropped by the next day and took a thorough set of measurements. When he’d left the Mayor poked his head in. Apologetic that he was asking for more help after all our efforts, he told us that a bunch of teenagers had gone missing overnight. The younger sister of one of the kids seemed to know where they’d gone but was uninterested in helping out. The Mayor was hoping we could coax her to say something and maybe fly out to where they’d disappeared.
This wasn’t really our department, but we had nothing better to do so we went into town to talk with the girl. Wrench seemed to think he had a useful approach to this so he asked us to hang back while he went in. His attempts to draw her out via Rocky proved mostly unsuccessful (if you give Rocky something to give to someone else, you’re really just giving it to Rocky). After being shot-down, Wrench gave it up and then Sanna took a shot at it.
Quite surprisingly, Sanna proved to have a very deft touch and with a few tales of the piloting life and a promise that she could drive the Pelican, we headed back to the airport to see if she could help us find where the other kids had gone. We started up the engines and took to the sky. Sanna actually did let her pilot for a bit but the girl was fascinated by flight and abandoned the controls soon after we left.
There’s a great deal of difference in navigating a route you only know by land from the air, but eventually we came to the spot where a small trail went off into the woods. The girl said the kids went off here and found some ancient ruins uncovered by the recent earthquake. Although the foliage was too dense for us to follow the trail, we flew the Pelican along a large cliff to see if we could spot anything but to no avail. It was getting dark and we needed help so we flew back to town to let people know what was going on and to arrange for a larger, better equipped search party the next morning.
We were to head out the next morning so the three of us were at loose ends. Wrench and I went back to the airport bar which had managed to reopen...well, they’d scrounged up a new supply of beer which meant they were open despite the armageddon ambiance. Wrench, like any sensible young man took full advantage of our local goodwill and started pounding back the beers. I like any foolish old man ran into Linda, the charming young woman who got me in a spot of bother with Nick. Turns out Nick and Linda used to date before he cheated on her and now he wanted to rekindle the flame. Linda, however, was anxious to start a new fire with me.
Dear reader, you would not have resisted either. Still, I do have a wealth of unwanted experience in these matters. Before slipping out behind the bar, I told Wrench if I wasn’t back in an hour, he was to find Sanna and start tearing Nick’s place apart looking for me.
Linda is a very good kisser. Unfortunately, I overheard Nick wandering into the bar. Unable to go back in to grab Wrench, I returned to the Pelican where I carefully explained to Sanna that if/when Wrench came running back to the ship, she was to tell him that I was, in fact, safe and sound. Considering the complexity of the discussion I decided to leave a note -- one as you came into the ship, one for Sanna to give to Wrench and one pinned upside down on Sanna’s shirt so she could flip it up and read it. I then went to bed.
About two hours later, Wrench and Sanna woke me up and I got to explain it all over again to the both of them. Luckily all misunderstandings were quickly contained and corrected.
In the morning, Wrench nursed his hangover and we got the search party assembled. We flew back to a crossroad close the forest trail. Sanna put down here and everyone debussed. We followed the trail to a dry creek bed and then upstream a bit until we saw a tunnel entrance jutting from the banks. It was clearly a storm drain of some kind so we followed it in. Footprints and tire tracks proved we were going in the right direction.
Eventually the tunnel opened up into an enormous cavern. Our lights can’t penetrate to any far wall but they can pick out a few buildings. It looks like we’ve found this ancient city. More ominously, we also discovered the kids’ campsite. There are lights and sleeping bags and trash. It doesn’t look like the camp was attacked, Wrench did a little looking around and he thinks the kids wandered off one by one and didn’t come back.
I am not cheered by this news. I’m wondering if I should stuff wax in my ears. At any rate, we’re taking a break while we decide what to do next.
* * *
Comedy gold:
Headcount:
Sanna or I referring to the crew: The three of us--
Wrench: You mean the four of us!
Rocky: Chitter-chitter!
Monkey-See:
Sanna: The secret to being a pilot is keeping a level head. [makes a “level-head” sign]
Wrench and Rocky mimic the “level-head” sign
To him, that’s the safer arrangement:
Working out the sleeping arrangements with our expanded crew…
Me: So I guess Ian and Brendan will bunk together.
Wrench: No, Brendan and Brenda should bunk together.
Me: *stares*
Wrench: It’s ok, they’re not related.
Me: I keep forgetting, you’re royalty.
Wrench’s new catchphrase:
Anyone: What’s th--
Wrench: Nevermind!
Always keep the door closed:
Ian: Why is the cockpit always sealed?
Wrench: Security!
When we brought our young pilot aboard, Wrench had to race back ahead of us to vent the cockpit.
Rocky’s super-helpful:
Me: Oh we’ve got smoke detectors but they don’t work because Rocky keeps stealing the batteries!
Wrench: But they’re already hidden away in the detector, he doesn’t need to keep them on his person.
Me: Ah, but he’s discovered the joys of licking them.
How the next character point will be spent:
Wrench comes into the engine room to find Ian and Rocky working on a complex piece of machinery.
Wrench: Whatcha doing?
Ian: What? We're repairing the flywheel interlink. You knew that.
Wrench: I didn't know you were working on anything.
Ian: You've been helping me this whole time.
Wrench: I just got up.
Ian: This is crazy, you've been helping me for the past two hours. We talked about it in detail and...
*looks down at Rocky who's handing him the wrench he just asked for*
Rocky: Chitter-chitter
Ian: AHHHHHHH!!!!
later
Tom
After our exertions around town, we returned to the airfield. Sanna and I wandered over to the bar (or what was left of it) to acquire some booze (or what was left of it). I also wanted to take a quick look around to see if there was anyone in charge or if Nick was around but it was mostly just grunts left to clean up the area. By the time we came back, we discovered that Wrench had made a new friend. His name is Ian and he seems keen to help Wrench out with the engines of the ship. Although I'm a little leery about hiring on someone based on Wrench's enthusiasms, it probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if he had an extra hand that wasn't as likely to steal a shiny bolt as it was to use it.
Considering our ship was the most intact thing on the airfield, we had Sanna shove the Pelican up to the back of the bar and threw an informal cookout for everyone at the field. People scrounged up whatever they could and we grilled it up. In particular, Sanna expressed a desire for "cheese....melted on things" which produced some wildly unlikely combinations, but darn if they didn't hit the spot.
We also did a little more recruiting. Remembering how short-handed we were yesterday it would've been nice to have a little extra help. Ian was a good choice, but it'd be good to have a couple of roustabouts to handle the heavy lifting that would otherwise would fall to me. Asking around a bit we came across Brendan and Brenda (no relation) who were both at loose ends and ready to sign on. I told them to show up the following morning for orientation and that was that. Eventually the party wound down and we got some sleep.
In the morning, our new employees showed up and I provided the basic rundown on employee responsibilities and benefits along with the basic employment forms. We were then visited by the Chief Administrator for the airport, a guy named Dave who was effusive in his praise for us. This will probably get us some free docking which is good but we really need to find some paying gigs. It's a little tough trying to pull money from a town which has recently fallen to pieces but we might be able to work out something in trade. At any rate, there was no work specifically at the airport but Dave gave us a lift into town where we asked around at Town Hall. Eventually, the Mayor himself came out to talk with us. Again, a lot of gratitude for our quick work yesterday. When it came down to open requisitions, there wasn't much but he did need food shipped in from some outlying farms and with our cargo space we could easily handle it. The Mayor told us to come back in a few hours while he sent out some runners to work out where we should go and what we should get.
There was a secondary reason we were in town. Sanna had come with me since her supply of black weed was dangerously low and our transaction had been disrupted by the quake. I was also wondering if Nick might have a little side work for us. Eventually, we found Nick ordering some guys around to get his house fixed. Nice place, not too badly damaged so it was going well and Nick himself was in a halfway decent mood all things considered. So we made the buy and went back to Town Hall where the Mayor laid out the plan of attack. It was going to be a two-day trip to hit up a couple of farms in the area and get the Pelican loaded up.
Sanna and I returned to the airfield to get the crew ready. Brenden managed to borrow a small freight loader from the airport to assist us in moving the food onto the ship. We lifted off and flew over to the first farmstead where...the guy had never seen an air freighter come in for a landing. He was waving and shouting and seemed concerned that we’d land in his fields but there was plenty of space in front of his house and that’s where we put down. After exchanging some pleasantries, we got to work. And when I say we, I mostly mean the roustabouts and the loader. I will say that Sanna was probably our best hire ever (despite her eccentricities), but getting some spare hands to do grunt work is a very close second. As it got dark, the farmers treated us to a nice supper. Everyone (but Wrench and I) was surprised to see Sanna eating everyone else under the table. Well...piloting is hard mental work. They also graciously agreed to let us keep the Pelican parked on their lawn so that we’d be ready to go tomorrow (not much point in flying her around at night).
I had forgotten that common folk rise at an ungodly early hour. However, my annoyance was rather abated when the farmer’s wife (who’d been banging on our cargo hold doors), invited us up for breakfast before we left. Again, it was quite a spread and we were a little more fortified as we lifted off and went on to the next farm. Again, with our extra hands it was no trouble to fill up the rest of the ship. Then it was back to the town center where 30 tons of foodstuffs waltzed out of our holds like magic.
The Mayor was quite pleased with our aid although remuneration is sadly a bit lacking. However, he did mention that a local baron was very interested in our work. The Mayor produced an invitation to dinner in about four days along with a discreet invitation to take advantage of an offer to get some appropriate clothes tailored for us. Although I still have my formal wear, it’d be nice to get something stylish and new. Wrench technically still has his formal wear but has rather grown out of it since he last put it away. Sanna has no formal wear beyond a uniform she’s unlikely to be wearing out in public, but she promised that she “cleans up well”.
This sparked a rather delicate conversation between the two of us. Sanna has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she’s absolutely one of the finest pilots on Ismer. She could fly the Pelican through the eye of a needle. Her heavily medicated state makes not the slightest difference to me. However, when attending a formal dinner, it would be incredibly helpful if she was not ripped to the gills and/or reeking of weed. While the town may not have any money, the Baron certainly does and we’d like to make a good impression (along with not being hounded by the law). I believe we reached an understanding on that point.
The tailor dropped by the next day and took a thorough set of measurements. When he’d left the Mayor poked his head in. Apologetic that he was asking for more help after all our efforts, he told us that a bunch of teenagers had gone missing overnight. The younger sister of one of the kids seemed to know where they’d gone but was uninterested in helping out. The Mayor was hoping we could coax her to say something and maybe fly out to where they’d disappeared.
This wasn’t really our department, but we had nothing better to do so we went into town to talk with the girl. Wrench seemed to think he had a useful approach to this so he asked us to hang back while he went in. His attempts to draw her out via Rocky proved mostly unsuccessful (if you give Rocky something to give to someone else, you’re really just giving it to Rocky). After being shot-down, Wrench gave it up and then Sanna took a shot at it.
Quite surprisingly, Sanna proved to have a very deft touch and with a few tales of the piloting life and a promise that she could drive the Pelican, we headed back to the airport to see if she could help us find where the other kids had gone. We started up the engines and took to the sky. Sanna actually did let her pilot for a bit but the girl was fascinated by flight and abandoned the controls soon after we left.
There’s a great deal of difference in navigating a route you only know by land from the air, but eventually we came to the spot where a small trail went off into the woods. The girl said the kids went off here and found some ancient ruins uncovered by the recent earthquake. Although the foliage was too dense for us to follow the trail, we flew the Pelican along a large cliff to see if we could spot anything but to no avail. It was getting dark and we needed help so we flew back to town to let people know what was going on and to arrange for a larger, better equipped search party the next morning.
We were to head out the next morning so the three of us were at loose ends. Wrench and I went back to the airport bar which had managed to reopen...well, they’d scrounged up a new supply of beer which meant they were open despite the armageddon ambiance. Wrench, like any sensible young man took full advantage of our local goodwill and started pounding back the beers. I like any foolish old man ran into Linda, the charming young woman who got me in a spot of bother with Nick. Turns out Nick and Linda used to date before he cheated on her and now he wanted to rekindle the flame. Linda, however, was anxious to start a new fire with me.
Dear reader, you would not have resisted either. Still, I do have a wealth of unwanted experience in these matters. Before slipping out behind the bar, I told Wrench if I wasn’t back in an hour, he was to find Sanna and start tearing Nick’s place apart looking for me.
Linda is a very good kisser. Unfortunately, I overheard Nick wandering into the bar. Unable to go back in to grab Wrench, I returned to the Pelican where I carefully explained to Sanna that if/when Wrench came running back to the ship, she was to tell him that I was, in fact, safe and sound. Considering the complexity of the discussion I decided to leave a note -- one as you came into the ship, one for Sanna to give to Wrench and one pinned upside down on Sanna’s shirt so she could flip it up and read it. I then went to bed.
About two hours later, Wrench and Sanna woke me up and I got to explain it all over again to the both of them. Luckily all misunderstandings were quickly contained and corrected.
In the morning, Wrench nursed his hangover and we got the search party assembled. We flew back to a crossroad close the forest trail. Sanna put down here and everyone debussed. We followed the trail to a dry creek bed and then upstream a bit until we saw a tunnel entrance jutting from the banks. It was clearly a storm drain of some kind so we followed it in. Footprints and tire tracks proved we were going in the right direction.
Eventually the tunnel opened up into an enormous cavern. Our lights can’t penetrate to any far wall but they can pick out a few buildings. It looks like we’ve found this ancient city. More ominously, we also discovered the kids’ campsite. There are lights and sleeping bags and trash. It doesn’t look like the camp was attacked, Wrench did a little looking around and he thinks the kids wandered off one by one and didn’t come back.
I am not cheered by this news. I’m wondering if I should stuff wax in my ears. At any rate, we’re taking a break while we decide what to do next.
Comedy gold:
Headcount:
Sanna or I referring to the crew: The three of us--
Wrench: You mean the four of us!
Rocky: Chitter-chitter!
Monkey-See:
Sanna: The secret to being a pilot is keeping a level head. [makes a “level-head” sign]
Wrench and Rocky mimic the “level-head” sign
To him, that’s the safer arrangement:
Working out the sleeping arrangements with our expanded crew…
Me: So I guess Ian and Brendan will bunk together.
Wrench: No, Brendan and Brenda should bunk together.
Me: *stares*
Wrench: It’s ok, they’re not related.
Me: I keep forgetting, you’re royalty.
Wrench’s new catchphrase:
Anyone: What’s th--
Wrench: Nevermind!
Always keep the door closed:
Ian: Why is the cockpit always sealed?
Wrench: Security!
When we brought our young pilot aboard, Wrench had to race back ahead of us to vent the cockpit.
Rocky’s super-helpful:
Me: Oh we’ve got smoke detectors but they don’t work because Rocky keeps stealing the batteries!
Wrench: But they’re already hidden away in the detector, he doesn’t need to keep them on his person.
Me: Ah, but he’s discovered the joys of licking them.
How the next character point will be spent:
Wrench comes into the engine room to find Ian and Rocky working on a complex piece of machinery.
Wrench: Whatcha doing?
Ian: What? We're repairing the flywheel interlink. You knew that.
Wrench: I didn't know you were working on anything.
Ian: You've been helping me this whole time.
Wrench: I just got up.
Ian: This is crazy, you've been helping me for the past two hours. We talked about it in detail and...
*looks down at Rocky who's handing him the wrench he just asked for*
Rocky: Chitter-chitter
Ian: AHHHHHHH!!!!
later
Tom
