Wicked Comet part 2
Several Weeks later
Elphaba and Galinda had become very good friends now, nearly as close as Elphaba and Rich's cousin relationship. Rich had also become friends with Galinda as well but he was still wary of the blonde. Right now, Elphaba and Galinda were walking in the bright afternoon sunshine towards the Engineering block where Rich was studying. They had arranged with him to go to a new local restaurant which Galinda said was "Fabulocious"
But as the two approached the block, a whole section of which had been shut off from regular students due to orders from Madame Morrible and a request from Rich, they both noticed that something was very suspicious. For one, the corridors around the workshops were completely empty!
"something is up" Elphaba said in a confused tone.
"i agree" Galinda replied.
They continued into the Engineering block and slowly, they began to hear loud banging, hissing and a shreiking/whiring sound. But also the smell of Smoke!
Quickening their pace, Elphaba and Galinda raced towards the largest workshop and flung the door open to reveal a huge cloud of smoke enshrouding something and Rich attempting to put out the fire with his jacket.
"Rich, what in Oz are you doing!" Elphaba shouted.
Rich turned to the two whilst still trying to beat out the fire and said "No time for that now, grab that bucket of water and chuck it on the fire!" whilst gesturing to a large bucket of water.
Elphaba and Galinda managed to pick up the bucket with a lot of struggling and gasping for air, they threw the bucket of water onto the fire, putting it out instantly and throwing up a huge cloud of steam.
"Rich, are you alright?" Elphaba asked worriedly, still coughing on the smoke.
"Yeah, just give me a second" Rich shouted back, as he said this Elphaba and Galinda could hear some loud mechanical clanking as Rich operated some sort of mechanism. Finally, some hatches in the ceiling opened, venting the smoke into the outside air. Slowly but surely, the smoke cleared and through the haze, something loomed out at them.
It was huge, much larger than any machine built in all of Oz before, it had large swept back blade shaped objects on either side and another shape that looked like a boat's rudder that had been turned upside down on the machine's back. Both Elphaba and Galinda looked up at the machine in awe.
(A.N if you want to know what the aircraft looks like, it is identical to the De havilland Comet airliner Prototype but with oval windows and extended range)
"Rich, what in Oz is this thing?" Elphaba exclaimed whilst gesturing to the machine.
Rich leapt down from the ledge he used to access the roof panels and strode over to them.
"I had hoped to have kept this a secret for the forseeable future but i might as well tell you two." He said guiltily.
Elphaba and Galinda both raised their brows at Rich who continued with his explanation.
"This" Rich said proudly whilst gesturing to the machine "is the Comet, Oz's first powered Aircraft and Oz's first Jet aircraft. It is designed to carry Passengers and Cargo further and Faster than anything in history"
"So this is what you have been working on all this time" Elphaba said in realisation.
Rich nodded and as they continued to gaze at the Comet, Galinda asked,
"How do you know it will work?"
"Ah, i don't actually know. I haven't even started the engines yet. Well i have when everyone was out but even then, i haven't started the engines after i installed them in the plane." Rich admitted guiltily.
"Besides, if the engines do start whilst installed, you can't do it in here." Elphaba added.
"That's the problem. I have to roll out the aircraft into the courtyard in order to be able to have a reasonable amount of space around the Comet in order for me to start it up." Rich replied.
"why can't we just roll it out now?" Galinda asked in a confused tone.
"you are so blonde Galinda, if we were to roll out the Comet now, there would be a riot!" Rich snapped.
As Rich and Galinda argued, Elphaba thought for a moment, she checked her watch that Rich had given her, made a few mental calculations and came up with a solution.
"We could roll it out just before Dawn tomorrow and fire up the Engines then." She said to Rich and Galinda.
"Wouldn't that wake everyone up?" Rich asked.
"Most of the Dorms are on the other side of Shiz, all of them soundproofed so they should mask the sound of the Comet's engines" Elphaba replied.
As she said this, Rich smiled brightly at her.
"Elphaba, you are a genius!" he said in joy.
As Rich was starting to have a huge explosion of excitement, Galinda interrupted him.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but we still do have that restaurant to go to!" she said.
Rich then calmed himself down as he went behind a heavy oak door to change into a shirt and trousers before he emerged and said "Well come on, what are we waiting for?"
And with that, Elphaba, Rich and Galinda strode out of the door towards town, excited for tomorrow morning, for then the Comet would come to life for the first time!
