Chapter 54: Blueprints
Isobel's feet touched the cold, cement ground in the pitch black room. She felt Private's flipper touch her paw, and she held onto it, as she was not sure if there were any ledges nearby.
Private sensed her uneasiness. "It's alright, Isobel. The ground is completely flat, you won't trip."
Isobel nodded, even though neither of them could see each other, and let go of his flipper.
Skipper fumbled around the wall near them, and with some heavy clicking noises, the whir of electricity kicked on and the bright lights above them filled the room. But now that Isobel could see, she could tell that this 'room' was clearly almost half the size of the zoo.
Large inventions that Kowalski had either given up on or forgotten about were stored in one corner of the warehouse. Various trunks that probably contained valuables or absolutely nothing were scattered here and there. Large wooden crates and power tools were stacked neatly off to the side. Near that was a narrow pool that housed a half-submerged submarine. For a moment, Isobel considered that they should be taking that to Talamaru, as it appeared to need no work. But when her eyes were drawn to a large canvas-covered structure in the center of the room, her curiosity rose.
Kowalski and Rico waddled over to the structure, and carefully pulled off the long and heavy canvas tarp.
Isobel's eyes lit up and Private gasped.
It was the Charley. Though it looked rough, Isobel instantly knew that this was what would bring her home. She figured that she had had some bad luck with sea travel in the past anyway.
She, Private, and Skipper walked over to it as well.
Skipper looked proud as he patted the side of the steel beast. "She's a beauty, isn't she?"
Isobel smiled and looked at him oddly. "She?"
"It's American." Private explained. "Every machine is a 'she'."
"How odd." Isobel turned back to the Charley.
"I agree." Kowalski said. "It makes no sense. Machines have no anatomy, technically."
"You can say whatever you want, it's a she." Skipper decided. "So what do you think, Isobel?"
Isobel also touched the cool metal of the helicopter. She assessed all of the scratches and dents and chipping paint. It most definitely needed work.
"I do not know much about these kinds of machines." She admitted. "But it has promise."
Skipper nodded. "We can get it fixed up easily. By April, as we said."
Kowalski flipped through his charts as he circled the Charley, assessing the damage. He mumbled to himself as he began fishing through the crates that were off to the side. He scratched his head with his flipper and made a few slash marks across his scribbled notes. And then he gave a sharp nod. "Based upon the exterior and interior damage and with the spare parts and supplies that we have on hand, it appears that we can indeed fulfill that promise within the given time frame."
"Excellente!" Skipper put his flippers on his hips. "I say we start with the blueprints now. Rico, gather all the necessary power tools and be sure they're in tip-top shape. Kowalski, I expect full status reports and scientific-type things from you. Private, get me the blue sketch paper and some sort of writing utensil."
"Right away, sir." Private waddled off.
Skipper turned to Isobel, who had hopped into the Charley to have a look around.
She could see that the interior looked just as rough as the outside. There were rips in the pilots' chairs and foam was spilling from them. The floor was scratched and stained, and everything else just appeared to be out of date and falling apart.
She went into the cockpit to sit in one of the chairs. It spun a little to face the windshield. She looked down at the glass-encased instrument panel where there were gauges and controls and all sorts of things she did not know the names of.
"We do not have these things on our machines in Atlantis." She said quietly.
Skipper sat in the other pilot chair to see what she was looking at. "You have machines? I thought you guys were lost in time, no electricity or batteries or anything."
Isobel smiled slightly. "Our machines work…a different way. What is this dial?" She changed the subject.
Skipper shook his head and leaned over to get a closer look. "That's the vertical speed indicator. Pretty self -explanatory name. And there is the airspeed indicator. We measure in knots, not mph. Kowalski is better at explaining these things, really."
Isobel shook her head. "I think you are doing fine. Besides, I would like to know that my pilot knows the parts of the helicopter."
He smiled at her slight sarcasm and she smiled back.
"Well, anyways," he went on, "this is the altimeter…"
He went on the explain the entire instrument board, starting from the far right where he was, and then making his way back to where Isobel had originally started asking questions. When he was pointing out the manifold pressure gauge, his flipper accidently brushed Isobel's paw. He blushed as he quickly pulled his flipper away, but Isobel seemed not to notice.
"Skippa." Private waddled into the Charley. "I found the paper. But all I have is white chalk."
"That'll do, Private." Skipper spun his chair back around and leapt off. "Come on, Isobel, the table is set up out here."
They got out of the helicopter and spread out the large piece of construction paper onto a table. Skipper and Isobel began discussing improvements that could be made to the Charley, but Kowalski came over and reminded them that the important things needed to be taken care of. He and Skipper began to sketch the basics of the helicopter, circling the problem areas and writing in footnotes for what needed to be done.
Isobel looked around. She saw Rico concentrating hard on testing out the power tools, and setting the ones that needed adjustments aside.
"Innit this exciting, Isobel?" Private came up behind her.
She turned to the smiling penguin and nodded. "Yes. Even these small things being done makes me feel closer to my home."
Private nodded. "I am going to miss it here."
Isobel smiled sadly. She looked up at the ceiling. "I will too. But, I will not miss having to live underground."
Private giggled. "I wouldn't either."
Thank you everyone for your input and reviews! Also, I learned some new things while writing this chapter. I decided to look up the anatomy of instrument panels in helicopters, so now I know some things about that. And plus I wanted it to be accurate when writing it. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!
