K is for Knots


Though a rare occurrence; it was only a matter of time before Piston Peak's got hit by a particularly intense windstorm. The ones that carried desert dust across the Pacific Ocean and only seemed to gain more power as they swept inland. In these hazardous conditions, most of the park's roads had been closed, and all of the base's aircraft had the common sense to be snuggly enclosed in their hangers…which, of course, meant that the Smokejumpers were outside.

The time when they could take shelter hanger had long passed. Now if they tried to open the open their hanger's doors, there was a pretty good chance that a gust of wind could catch the building and cause all of the windows to burst. While some of the more destructive members of the base would have been delighted to see the display, they all knew that there wasn't any money in the base's budget to replace the windows and windows were something that Maru couldn't make in his mechanic's shop.

As the wind continued to increase in intensity, the Smokejumpers decided to take shelter under Windlifter's weight lifting gear. And because this particular crew of ground pounders never stayed idle for long, they decided to turn the storm into a game.

"THAT GUST WAS TOTALLY AN 8." Avalanche announced after particularly intense wave of wind tore a branch off a nearby tree branch.

"Hm, I don't think it was that intense. I am putting it as a high 7." Pinecone countered.

"Any other bets?" Dynamite eyed her team. When no one else spoke up the team lead called it in. "Okay Maru, what was the score?"

"That last gust came in as 35.4 knots."

"That was a close one, but it looks like Avalanche picked the right number on the Beaufort scale. That said, Pinecone is still in the lead."

Another gust rumbled through the base sending all the surrounding trees into motion. "I am totally going to call that as a seven!" Drip chimed in before anyone else had a chance to talk.


In a hanger not too far away, Maru was taking advantage of the forced downtime to perform some of Blade Ranger's required annual maintenance. The helicopter was honestly one of his worst patients, and while the storm forced him to stay relatively still for the moment, it didn't stop him from constantly fidgeting. The fact that Maru was constantly being interrupted by the smokejumpers requesting an update on wind speeds was also not helping.

"Okay, Dynamite the last gust clocked in at 31 knots." Maru said over the radio with a sigh before getting back to work.

There were a few rotor beats of nothing but sound of clinking tools and howling wind, then Blade decided to start up a conversation. "So who are you betting on winning?"

"Normally I would put my money on Dynamite, she is after all the best-trained spotter in the bunch, but I have a feeling that she is being the responsible leader and moderating." Maru put down his tools and grinned. "And given how off some of Avalanche's answers have been, I think that Blackout is in the lead."

"I am putting my money on Pinecone." Blade drawled with carefully practiced indifference.

"So how much is it worth you?"

"I happen to know where a couple of high grade contraband are…" Blade started, the ghost of a smile dancing on the corner of his lips.

"Well played." Maru raised an eyebrow before turning his attention back to the work at hand. "Well played."


Term- Knots- A knot is a unit of speed that equals 1 nautical mile per hour (or roughly 1.5 mph). It is a common unit used in meteorology, as well as maritime and air navigation.