Not much to say except that I had far too much fun with this one.

--

Story 2 - "Under Construction"

Piper moved through the enormous, shimmering, high-tech laboratory. She was decked out in a spotless white coat and goggles, and carried with her a phial of glittering crystal dust. She leaned over the expensive machinery before her and deposited the dust within a waiting tray of similar specimens.

She was just moments away from a life-changing, world-altering discovery. The data was in, and it was flawless. She need only lift the protective glass and press a delicate finger to the red button that waited. So brightly red, so circular and elevated and eager to be pushed. That single action would see it all to fruition.

This was her moment. Her hand hovered over the button. One push, and she would be forever remembered as the greatest crystal scientist to have ever lived. A genius amongst fools. Piper: crystal expert demigod.

"And now, to press the button!" she exclaimed.

A loud tapping began to echo off of the walls behind her. The crystal dust was losing its luminescence. Her fingers shook in an effort to move forward.

"Right. The button! Push the button!"

The tapping sound increased. The walls were crashing, hammering, and fading out of sight. She willed her mind to stay focused. Nothing was as important as this final act.

"The... button!"

Piper fell back into darkness and her perfect lab exploded into millions of sad little pieces. Seconds later, her eyes fluttered open to the continued sound of thudding against the walls. She sat up in her squeaky bedroom cot, and as her eyes adjusted, she could take in the truth of her reality. Not a sparkling laboratory with freshly-laundered lab coats and all of the latest crystal technology. Just the Condor; old, rusty, and carrying an odd scent she couldn't quite explain or get used to.

With a groan, she fell back onto her pillow and scrunched it to the sides of her head. Her eyes drifted to an old clock on the wall.

"STORK!" she screamed, "It's five-thirty in the morning!"

OoOoO

Stork had officially been the Condor's pilot for three days. In that time he had put all of his energy into repairing the damage caused by years of service and many more of neglect. He had started with the ship's vital systems: the crystal-converting engine core, the air breaks, the energy shields, the high-speed impeller, the time-pulse navigation, the radar, and of course he'd devoted an entire day to improving the security systems. During the night he had finished updating the old electrical networks, and was now paying some attention to the structural integrity of the ship.

This meant replacing rusty metal paneling, which involved a noisy screwdriver, welding torch, and a hammer both Aerrow and Piper were growing to loathe with a deep passion.

Aerrow met Piper in the hall as she stumbled out in her pajamas and bare feet. The Sky Knight looked just as tired as she felt.

"How long has he been up?" she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

Aerrow yawned. "I don't think he went to bed."

The two of them exchanged a grumble of mutual dislike for early mornings, and made their way toward the bridge. During their walk, they started to take notice of the changes Stork had made during the night.

"That light never worked before," Aerrow said, staring at the ceiling. "Or that one. Or that one!"

Piper blinked at a panel on the wall. "Is that a thermostat?"

Together they felt the odd phenomenon of cleanliness beneath their feet. Sky Knight and Specialist turned their eyes to the floor.

Piper blinked. "I think he mopped the hallway."

"I think he tiled it first."

Slightly unnerved by the way the Condor seemed to twinkle without any natural light source, Aerrow quickened his pace and Piper kept close behind him. He reached for the door to the bridge, only to find that it slid open of its own accord.

"That's strange and convenient at the same time," he said, scanning the deck ahead of him. "Stork, are you in here?"

The Merb's position was given away by a shower of sparks coming from behind a set of large pipes. It stopped abruptly and Stork peered sideways, face covered by a welding mask.

"Please be careful where you step. I just replaced and washed the floors, and the cleaning fluid I used isn't technically, um... legal."

Piper had wondered what that burning sensation was. She gave a tiny yelp and hopped onto a chair. Aerrow, who had at least some time until his slippers were eaten away, approached the Merb with a forced grin. Stork had already gone back to welding, getting the last wall panel in place before he turned to retrieve the infernal hammer.

Aerrow promptly reacted. "No!"

"Da!" Stork jumped back. He lost hold of the hammer and fumbled with it in the air. It landed on the newly-fabricated floor with an awful clang.

Stork slouched, eye-twitch hidden behind lank hair. "Well... that's hopelessly dented."

"Sorry, Stork," Aerrow winced. "Listen, we're really grateful for all of the work you've been doing do get the ship in top shape again. It's really impressive..."

Stork's mouth was a fine line. "But...?"

"But. Um, well..."

Piper could see that Aerrow was struggling. She couldn't really blame him. He'd only known the two of them for a few days, and was completely new to the whole leadership role. She decided to help him out. She still felt responsible for Stork, anyhow.

"But you really should take a break," she smiled. "You've been going at this non-stop for three days."

"I still need to recalibrate the blaster cannons... the trajectory systems are completely non-functional."

Piper retained her smile, as phony as it now looked. "I'm sure that can wait while you get some sleep."

Stork shook his head and side-stepped over to one of the Condor's weapons. "It can't. Not only would we be entirely defenceless in the all-too-likely event of a Cyclonian ambush, but the current trajectory sends all ammunition directly into the Condor's pontoons." He paused to allow for the formation of a morbid smile. "And that would spell certain death and doom for us all."

"That's... interesting!" Aerrow spoke up, "but I don't think we need to worry about that while we're still parked here on Terra Souk."

"It's your funeral," Stork muttered, moving back to his tools. "And mine, and Piper's..."

"We all have to go sometime," Piper sighed. "So. Off to bed!"

Stork gave her an odd look. It was the same sort of look a secluded jungle tribe might give to a tourist who decides to pet the monkey rather than eat it. The Merb gathered up the tools in a box and carried them to the new door.

"Well, don't come crying to me when you're on fire and need someone to douse it... because I haven't replaced the plumbing yet either."

"Sweet dreams, Stork," Piper waved.

When he'd left the bridge, she gave Aerrow a smile of relief and sat back in the chair, propping her feet up on the table in front of it. The two of them enjoyed a few blissful moments of peace and quiet. This peace and quiet was immediately followed up by a shrill banging in the air ducts above them. They turned their faces to the ceiling.

"Don't mind me," Stork spoke from inside the duct, "I'm just installing an air filter. I found mold in the bathroom earlier... As you're probably aware, extended exposure could lead to severe immunodeficiency... or cranial hemorrhaging, depending on the species."

Piper's own eye was starting to twitch. "Stork..."

"I'll perform a proper test on the specimen as soon as I'm finished here--"

"GO TO BED!" Aerrow and Piper found themselves shouting in unison.

OoOoO

Stork had been gone from the bridge for a good ten minutes, and only when Piper and Aerrow were sure he wasn't clambering around in the steam pipes did they allow themselves to relax. Piper tested the corrosive state of the floors before shuffling quickly across the bridge to the sliding door. She turned to Aerrow before stepping out.

"Do you drink coffee?"

Aerrow grinned. "I do since Stork moved in."

"Thought so. I'll go and make us both a cup," she laughed.

Stork was nowhere to be seen as she walked down the hall to the tiny kitchen. She presumed he was in his new bedroom; although, calling it a 'bedroom' was being a little generous. Stork had chosen a utility closet and insisted that it was all he needed. Piper recalled that Merb dwellings were generally very tiny (as they needed to be rebuilt just about every other weekend), so she supposed it made sense. Still, for all the work he was putting into the Condor, it seemed he certainly deserved a bit more.

She foraged through cupboards and drawers for a few cups, finding some old mugs boxed away in the pantry. She'd bought a bag of coffee beans, a jug of water, and a few other meager supplies the day before when she had realized sleep would be evading her yet again.

A familiar childhood tune came into her mind and she hummed as she brewed the coffee, grinding and pouring and stirring and glancing to the window where Stork was just outside and staring at her--

Piper screamed and dropped one of the cups.

"What are you doing now!?" she panted, having collected the broken shards and opened the window. "Why were you staring at me?"

Stork didn't look the least bit concerned by Piper's hysterics. "I wasn't... Can you pass me the wrench on the counter there?"

Piper raised a fist, grumbled, and turned to grab the wrench. She slammed it into the Merb's outstretched hand and he nearly lost his grip on the rope that was currently supporting him.

He flinched and gave a yelp, "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Are you trying to drive us insane?"

Stork narrowed his eyes and set to tightening a bolt. The bolt wasn't having any of it.

"This isn't working..." he grumbled. "Exactly when is that Sky Knight planning to hire some dumb muscle?"

Piper frowned, "Send him a memo. Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"I don't drink coffee."

"Could have fooled me."

OoOoO

Having ordered Stork to sleep once again (and this time followed him to his bedcloset to assure he wouldn't discover a new chore along the way), Piper finished pouring the coffee and brought it back to the bridge where Aerrow was quietly examining some old charts.

She sat down at the table. "Is that a map of Cyclonia?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's pretty old though; I'd like to get some updated charts before we leave, if we can afford it."

Piper smiled to herself and sipped her drink. "If we don't start running some missions soon, we're going to be too broke to start."

Aerrow grinned and sighed, rolling up the chart and storing it with a number of other aging documents from the days of the previous Storm Hawks. He downed his coffee and spared a glance out of the window.

"I think it might be too late to go back to bed now, so I might as well get dressed and showered--"

"No plumbing," Piper pointed out.

Aerrow frowned. "Right... well. Dressed then."

He left the bridge and grabbed his uniform, toothbrush, and poured a small glass of water from the jug Piper had bought earlier. Eventually, he made his way to the Condor's bathroom. He pushed open the creaky door and heard a yelp on the other side. Immediately he pulled it closed again and jumped back.

"Stork? Sorry buddy, I didn't know you were in there."

Aerrow could hear muffled angry muttering on the other side. He suspected Stork's top priority now would be adding locks to all of the doors.

Stork sighed from inside the bathroom, "I'm fixing the plumbing..."

"Oh! Well. That's good, I guess. How long is it going to take?"

"Depends. I'm retiling, bleaching, and disinfecting as I go."

Aerrow sighed and opened the door again. This time the overwhelming smell of toxic chemicals hit him square in the face. He doubled back with watering eyes and burning lungs.

Stork adjusted his face mask. "Yeah... um, if you're going to come in here, try not to touch anything or, uh, breathe."

"I think I'll just wait on the bridge with Piper..." the red-head frowned.

OoOoO

Faced with the potential horrors of another day living on the Condor with Stork stuck in repair mode, Aerrow and Piper decided to risk eventual poverty and spend their last coins on a room at the inn. When they left, Stork had just finished with the bathroom (which would remain dangerously uninhabitable for at least another twenty-four hours) and started on rewiring the radios. They knew they'd made the correct decision as soon as the hammer had reappeared, ready to assault their eardrums once more. The two of them couldn't have exited the ship any faster if their lives had depended on it.

"You don't think he'll take off with the ship, do you?" Aerrow asked that night.

Piper laughed. "With that dent still in the table? Oh no, far too dangerous to be flying the ship with a dented table."

The two shared a giggle, found their beds, and drifted into wonderful, peaceful, Storkless sleep.

OoOoO

Sometime the next day, after sleeping well into the afternoon, Aerrow and Piper walked side-by-side back to the lot where they'd left the Condor. Not surprisingly, the ship shimmered in the sunlight, as perfect and flawless as the day she'd been made.

"Wow..." Aerrow gaped. "I've got to hand it to him. He does good work."

Piper had to agree. "She definitely looks ready to fly now!"

Excited to see the famous ship fly in top condition, Aerrow jogged the last of the way. A huge smile on his face, he entered the bridge with Piper just behind him. Stork was standing at the controls.

"Is she--" Aerrow started.

Stork help up a finger for silence. "Wait."

Sky Knight and Specialist stood motionless in the doorway, holding their breath to the single sound of a steady squeak as Stork used a screwdriver to secure one last tiny screw into the radio panel. He stopped, turned slowly, and grinned in an almost menacing way.

"There. I'm finished."

Piper squealed in delight and Aerrow released a shout of joy. Stork stood where he was in a zombie-like sort of way. His face was drawn and pale and his eyes were bloodshot and deeply circled, but the smile remained. He turned his back on his teammates to stare out of the front window of his glorious ship.

"I guess this means we can finally set out," Aerrow said, sliding his fingers across the smooth surface of the control panels.

Piper gave a little hop of glee. "I'll map a course!"

Aerrow wandered over to the table with her, feeling at last like a proper commander. "All right Stork," he smiled, "take us out of here!"

The Merb remained standing where he was, head bowed.

"Stork?"

Still no response. Aerrow exchanged an uneasy glance with Piper before moving forward. "Something wrong, Stork?"

The Sky Knight extended a gloved hand, laying it gently on Stork's narrow shoulder to try and grab his attention. Immediately, the Merb's legs gave out from under him and he crumpled sideways. Aerrow caught him quickly, only to be met with unusually loud snoring.

"He's... asleep," the red-head blinked.

Piper stared at Aerrow, who was looking quite perplexed with the sleeping Merb cradled in his arms as though being dipped in a ballroom dance. After a few strained moments of silence, the crystal expert gave a short laugh and turned to the sliding doors.

"Wait, where are you going?" Aerrow croaked.

Piper's smile widened. "Where do you think?"

"More coffee?"

"More coffee."