CHAPTER 26 - ZIPPY'S

Witney arrived at Fort Balatro and Zippy’s Blimp Works late at night. The entire fort was dark, but here and there Witney could perceive motion and when she approached the main gate she was challenged by heavy security. From the main gate to the blimp hanger took almost two hours of checking, re-checking, scrutiny of her profile, checking her avatar face against the pictures on file. They even asked the secret question which made Witney very nervous. As Witney talked to the guard stations she could see that the Morse Light on top of the guard house was busy. In the distance she saw a blinking light and then another. Security had established some kind of relay with distant stations. Morse light at night and heliotrope by day though Witney.

At the last stop, an officer bearing the snarling weasel insignia of the dreaded Ministry of Secrets and Capital Crimes, had denied Witney entrance to the gate and had threatened to open the documents Witney had been entrusted with by Bradford Cananticle Monforte IV, Royal, Dauphan of Second Life. Witney threatened to tear the weasel’s throat out if he touched the documents. The officer then smile with a thin smile bordering on a smirk and then allowed Witney to pass through. Some kind of test Witney realized. Just a stupid test.

But before allowing her on the grounds of the blimp works Witney was blindfolded, her hands tied together, and she was put into the backseat of a carpet van and driven some distance. The documents she carried were placed in a small sack and tied around her neck. The distance was greater than Witney had estimated from the gate and many turns were involved. Witney thought about getting carpet sick but changed here mind. At one point Witney was certain they had driven in circles for a moment.

Finally the van stopped and Witney was harshly pulled from the van. She could hear a door opening from a well lit room because the blindfold was not very good and she could see her feet. She could also see the feet of the guards and since she had loosened the ties on her hands, Witney was seriously considering beating the pulp out of the guards, but decided that such a violent action was inappropriate of a messenger from the Monforte’s. She was led over a threshold and then the guards left closing the door. Later perhaps she could settle the score. Wherever the closest beer joint was she would find the guards, or for that matter, some other guys who looked like them. Some one untied her hands and removed the blindfold. She was in the enormous interior of the blimp hangar and the immensely bright lights hit her eyes like a one kilo salami across the bridge of her nose.

Standing before her was a tall thin young man with a concerned smile on a greasy face and wearing filthy coveralls. His hair was brown and very wet. In fact he was soaking wet from head to foot and in his hand he held a Rigid Exposed Ratchet Bolt Threader and in the other a 25 mm die. Witney recognized them because she had asked for just that set for Christmas when she was 14, but instead she got a Screw You Elmos from her father. It had been the beginning of her difficulties and rejection of her dad.

“Hey Tek, get your behind over her,” someone yelled from a distance.

“Hi I’m Tek.” said the young man extending his hand to Witney.

“Witney, Witney Llanfair,” she said as she took his hand. They shook hands and Witney felt the most amazing calluses on a hand she had ever felt. Witney thought Tek looked cute and his hands gave her ideas. But that would have to wait. “I’ve got an important message for Captain Pugilist.”

“This way,” said Tek as he turned into the hangar and shops.

Nice gluts thought Witney as Tek’s wet coveralls clung to his rear and thighs. He’s not wearing undies she realized. Cool.

The place was big. Really big, thought Witney. She saw two blimps tethered in the blimp hangar but they looked small in here. One blimp was old and the name Poofer written on its side. The Poofer was pretty ordinary, but the other Blimp with a big ‘X’ on its side was shaped more like a rugby ball and the engines had cowlings and looked different somehow. The Blimps were tethered on one side of the structure because down the middle was the skeleton of something really big. What it was exactly Witney could not tell but it was not an ordinary blimp. Perhaps it was a replacement for the machine that crashed into the Druid Grove nearly killing all of them but ending Adel’s evil attempts to overthrow the Lindens in Second Life.

Witney had some idea of the size of the blimps, but the hangar was something else. She stopped and looked up. High in the rafters, which she could barely see, beyond the green pickle lights, she could see clouds forming. Clouds on the inside of the building. This is really big realized Witney.

“Tek, I need this test fitting threaded now, not tomorrow,” someone yelled.

Witney looked down and continued walking to a long two story line of windows at the far end of the building. As she walked she saw that the blimp called Poofer, was being unloaded and there were crates and packages and piles of wood logs lying about on the hangar floor. They appeared to be sorting the crates and reloading some onto the other blimp with the big X on its side. The floor of the hangar was alive with avatars and along one wall there sat engines and machine tools grinding and sparking away as small groups of men and women were intensely focused on building things of iron, aluminum, and fabric.

It took forever to reach the door to the office complex. A sign hanging over the first floor door read ‘Design Shed’. Across the room Witney saw Punky Pugilist and she turned and walked toward her. She was surrounded by a small group of engineers and some Blue Navy officers and they were examining drawings and documents. They appeared to be arguing.

“But it can’t wait,” said an engineer. “The HMS Insouciant will be here day after tomorrow. We simply got to get her repaired, rearmed, and out by dawn. We cannot wait.”

Punky was staring at the drawings and shaking her head. “Ok,Ok,” she said. “Forget about the ejectors, we will go without them.”

Witney did not want to interrupt but she had critical messages from the Monforte’s.

“Punky, Punky Pugilist,” Witney said.

Punky looked up. Punky did not smile. She looked horrible thought Witney. Grimy, dirty, tired, and smelly too.

“Here these are messages for you from Muffin,” said Witney handing the blue envelopes with the Monforte Crest to Punky. Witney felt odd calling Bradford Cananticle Monforte IV, Royal, Dauphan of Second Life, Muffin, but it made sentences a lot shorter she decided.

Punky reached out and took the envelopes. Punky looked at the envelopes carefully and said “You guys work out the details on the hydrogen fuel pumps, I need to read these dispatches. For my eyes only.” Then Punky laughed a tired laugh, and walked across the room full of drafting tables to a small windowed office in the distance. Witney could see Punky sit down and rub her eyes and face with her hands before she opened the envelopes and began to read.

Witney was already planning on how to get back to Capital City now that her mission was complete, but she was exhausted. She sat down on a vacant stool two drafting tables away. No one paid any attention to her. They were too busy with their pencils and erasures to even notice that she had fallen asleep leaning on a slanted table.

Punky opened the first envelope and examined the contents. It was a dossier on Loopy Loo. Punky read quickly but she knew most of the background information from the files at the Academy of Balloons. What she wanted to know was where Loopy Lou was? How many henchmen did she have? What kinds of weapons did they hold? The files contained little data on the critical elements Punky needed to find Loopy Loo and repay the debt in blood and fire.

The Punky opened the second envelope. It was a situation report and a set of orders from the Second Sea Lord. Punky had been activated and was now officially a captain in the Blue Ocean Navy. Punky laughed as a little fabric patch fell from the envelope. Contained in the envelope were her orders.

Punky was to take the X ship into the air before dawn and test her out of sight of eyes on the ground. She was then to return at night and in the dark, refuel, pick up two commandoes, and proceed to drop off the commandoes at a location they would inform her of when they arrived. The journey would take four days. Upon completion Punky was to return to the blimp works, refit, and assume patrol duty along the southern edge of Second Life. Punky was free to pick her own crew from the avatars available at the blimp works.

All except Dagmon Zhukovsky and Tek Cronon could be chosen for her crew. Then Punky’s heart sank as she learned that only four Blue Navy Blimps of the Line had survived the attacks and that two were badly damaged. The HMS Insouciant was limping its way to the blimp works and needed to occupy the hangar in two nights. They had allotted only 36 hours to refit the damaged ship. 12 hours later the even more damaged HMS Indefatigable would arrive. Daggy and Tek were desperately needed to refit and repair the ships. They could not be released.

Punky shook the envelope from the Second Sea Lord and a small code book fell from it and onto the desk. A folded paper note floated down and landed on the code book. Punky reached for the folded note.

The note was from Muffin. The note was a personal plea to take Witney into her charge and remove her from the Capital City area. Witney was on Loopy Loo’s termination list. Muffin asked that Punky make up some plausible story as to why Witney was accompanying them on the next flight, but that as a personal favor to both himself and for the future of Second Life, Punky needed to keep Witney out of sight.

Punky sighed. She did not need a civilian at this time. But then again, Punky remembered the fight in the Druid Grove and Witney’s hand to hand combat skills were the best Punky had seen in years. At that moment Punky decided to take Witney along. Punky placed the code book into her breast pocket next to a few Testosa Grandes. Then she took the dossier, the orders from the Second Sea Lord, Muffins personal plea, and fed them into the shredder in the corner of the room.

Punky rubbed her eyes again. Time to go to the infirmary and visit Fraley she thought. Punky exited the office and walked to where the engineers and Blue Navy Officers were still arguing. She tapped Witney on the shoulder and Witney awoke with a start.

“Witney, your drafted,” said Punky. Witney opened her mouth about to object. “You’re now our weapons officer. Go find Tek and get us some personal defense and perhaps a little offense as well. We leave before dawn.”

Witney closed her mouth. Hmm, Witney thought ‘weapons officer,’ ‘leave before dawn,’ and Tek.