HURRICANE!!!!
Chapter 2: Preparations
It took T-Bone nearly an hour to reach the edge of the approaching storm. They had come in at a high altitude of some 24,000 ft before beginning to drop to approximately 10,000 ft and slowing to about 180 knots.
Razor kept a close eye on his Doppler radar watching for any thunderstorms that could ruin his equipment. No sense looking for trouble as they got closer to the monster heading toward them.
Below the ocean was violently agitated. White caps, patches of foam, spray: each hint at the power of the furious winds spiraling around this dangerous hurricane.
They stay on the perimeter of the storm. The buffeting was intense, both beginning to feel like tennis balls within the cockpit. The sudden dips and lurches weren't very nice to Razor's stomach but he grit his teeth and ignored it.
"Make a wide swing around the storm, T-Bone. Let's go see the damage at Sandeval Bay." Razor ordered his friend.
"Roger."
It takes them another hours flight before they reach Sandeval Bay. The storm has only recently left their shores some two hours before. The devastation silences the pair as T-Bone slowly passes over the coastline.
Sandeval Bay was more like an island than the huge inland city of Megakat. Much more of it pushed out into the ocean itself. Most of the land formed a crescent moon shape before gradually moving inland to a heavily forested area. Because if its more sloping coastline the storm was able to flood the whole crescent area of land and the destruction was total. Not a building was left standing.
It seemed so wrong for the sun to be shining through departing clouds and casting its bright light on the ruined coastline. As they swept over the forest and to the rest of the city laying beyond the trees, they were disheartened to see that the storm had wrought just as much damage here. Hundreds of trees had been struck down, a whole tract of homes was nothing but a debris field, many of their proud high rises had their windows completely shattered, their proud sports arena had its roof peeled off completely, and the airport had many of their pleasure planes tipped over or slammed into hangars and other planes. In the bay, various pleasure craft had been flung as far as the tree line.
The SWAT Kats were sick at heart, seeing this much devastation and loss of life and property. Sandeval Bay would take a long time to recover.
"Better get back to the storm, buddy." Razor said quietly.
T-Bone said nothing as he turned their jet back toward the storm. They were once more hit with hard turbulence, blinding rain, and lightning an hour later. Only the pilot's nimble flying kept them from having all their electronics shorted out. It didn't hurt that Razor had insulated them a bit more than usual after the last lightning strike had sent them to another dimension.
T-Bone circled the angry whirling spout of water again to get to the other side. Razor took readings and monitored the hurricanes speed and strength.
"Damn, this thing is strong and doesn't look to be losing any strength before hitting land again." He said tightly.
"Wish we could bust it up!" T-Bone gritted as he continued to struggle with his controls.
"Yeah, me too. We could hope the thing turns away from us or loses some steam......." Razor sighed, not sounding too upbeat about it.
For the next exhausting four hours, the SWAT Kats kept ahead of the storm. It wasn't looking good. The storm failed to alter course more than a few miles and was still heading straight for Megakat City. It was still too soon to determine where it would hit land.
"Razor, we need to make a fuel stop!" T-Bone warned his partner.
"Yeah, okay! I'll notify Feral. I suspect he'll supply us with some fuel." Razor said distractedly.
He was monitoring the rising water below them. The swells were reaching truly dangerous levels. Some were already nine feet. He contacted the enforcer tower and was given the green light to land and fuel. He passed the message to T-Bone and felt the jet head for a higher altitude and pick up speed.
At the more peaceful altitude, T-Bone was able to make good time to reach the city. Very soon, he was putting the jet on VTOL and dropping them to the enforcer flight line. Ground crews signaled him to a nearby hangar to refuel. There, they were met by Feral.
The Commander looked harried and irritable but surprisingly he was only brisk and impersonal with them.
"Report!"
"The storm is still heading toward us at about 121 mph. The storm surge is already at nine feet and showing no signs of slowing down. I would estimate it will reach us in about another twenty-four hours." Razor told him grimly.
Feral face drooped with dismay at the news but it wasn't unexpected.
"We went over to Sandeval Bay to get a look at the damage." Razor continued.
Feral felt his stomach tighten, though he couldn't see Razor's eyes, the small body told him the SWAT Kat was badly upset. Razor quickly briefed him on the damage and soon he was feeling the same way as the SWAT Kat, this was going to be really bad for them with their greater population.
"There is some good news, Commander." The smaller of the SWAT Kats said flatly.
"Oh really? I could use some." Feral said drolly.
"Our bay is not as sloped as Sandeval Bay is which means our flooding hopefully will be confined to just the coast line with mild to moderate flooding in the city due to the heavy rains." Razor said.
"Ah, that is some good news alright." Feral sighed then noted his ground crew was done. "Time for you to head out again. Need a brief personal break first?" He asked politely.
The two paused a moment, then realized it could be a long time before they hit landfall again.
"Guess we better accept that offer, Commander." T-Bone said reluctantly.
Feral just nodded and signaled his assistant. "Sergeant, take them to the cafeteria and see that they get some food and whatever else they need and return them here."
The Sergeant saluted and headed off across the hangar floor with the SWAT Kats following.
Less than forty-five minutes later, they were refreshed and heading back out into the dark sky. As they passed over the city, T-Bone let out a low whistle.
"Crud, do you see that down there, buddy?"
Razor glanced out his window and saw the main freeways of the city heavily clogged with cars. "Poor Feral, that is a real mess. Hope they can get it cleared out soon. I'm afraid Megakat Bridge might end up being a casualty soon."
"Wonderful! At least I don't think any of the omegas will be climbing out of their holes during this. Even as insane as Dark Kat is, even he isn't that crazy." T-Bone commented.
Suddenly his partner laughed.
"What?" T-Bone asked in confusion.
"I just had a mental image of Dr. Viper and the swamp he lives in. The storm is going to make a complete mess of that area and cause mega flooding. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets washed out." Razor smirked.
"Hehheh! Couldn't happen to a more deserving Kat." T-Bone snorted humorously.
Meanwhile back in the city, Feral was about ready to pull his fur out by the pawfuls. His troops were getting flak from Katizens not willing to evacuate. Since a hurricane hadn't occurred for a couple of decades, many just didn't believe one was on its way, much less that it could be that much of a problem.
He was at a loss as to how to deal with this until he remembered what Razor had reported to him an hour before. Contacting the SWAT Kats, he had them return to Sandeval Bay and take photos and transmit them back to him. They were understandably reluctant to waste fuel until Feral told them of his problem.
Disgusted with their fellow Katizens, they agreed to do as asked. More than an hour later, photos poured into Feral's communication center. He immediately contacted the news stations and transmitted the photos and demanded an immediate dissemination of them as well as bringing them up-to-date on the threat. Soon the airwaves were inundated with the actual photos of the devastation at Sandeval Bay. Razor had also sent shots of the hurricane in all its glory. If that didn't shift the stubborn ones then their lives were their own since Feral wouldn't waste anymore time on them.
Some ten hours later, the freeways were finally clear of traffic and so was the city. It felt rather eerie seeing the empty streets. Feral's enforcers had been putting up sandbag barriers across all the low areas leading into the city proper. Like the SWAT Kats, he suspected the Megakat Bridge might not survive the coming storm.
He had done his best to insure places like the nuclear power plant, Pumadyne, MASA and the refineries had prepared their facilities against storm damage.
In her office, Callie had done her best to field the myriad of calls her office received from the high society of the city's wealthy sect. She didn't waste too much time soothing them as she had far too much else to take care of.
She'd just received reports that most of the coastal area had been evacuated and the displaced Katizens were at the sports arenas, schools, and other large buildings that could safely hold them until the storm was over. The hospitals were staffed and ready and the airport had landed all their flights and warned off arriving ones. If possible, they sent their planes to distant airports to spare them any damage. Large freighters had done the same from the bay.
Callie was especially concerned about any oil tankers either heading for Megakat City or sitting at port. She did her best to get the Maritime Agency to get them out of port as fast as possible.
By six p.m. that evening, the city looked like a ghost town. She and Feral with the SWAT Kats met at city hall to eat a meal, rest, and trade reports.
"Well, we've done everything we possibly can. It's just a waiting game now." Feral sighed as he finished his sandwich.
"You're right there. T-Bone and I are going to get a couple hours of shuteye then head out again." Razor said, picking up his drink and downing half of it in one go. He was dry from being in the cockpit for nearly ten hours.
"Good idea guys. Think I will to. I know its hard for you, Commander, but you better to." Callie admonished Feral.
"I will, if you will." He grunted, tirededly.
"Promise." She sighed, stretching and standing.
They tossed their trash and parted. Each ones thoughts on the nightmare to come. They might not get a rest again for days after this.
