Author's Note: I'll remove this later, but I apologize for the late update! If I could have posted sooner I would have but some quick turnaround deadlines came up with my last semester of college, and Graduation prep has been arduous for the last month or so. If it is any consolation, I'm about to have loads of time to read and write alongside my post-graduation jobs. Thank you so much for staying invested in this story!
While Skipper and Kitka continued their lovelorn stroll towards the museum, a hop, skip, and a jump-cut to HQ revealed Kowalski setting up a new station for experimentation and research.
"Since when did acting commanding officer become a meaningless title?" The Salty Scientist slipped the small vial he had squirreled away out, his lab a sanctity where other penguins seldom lurked.
Donning a jeweler's loupe and taking care with precise instruments, Kowalski delicately popped the cap off the glass tube containing the shard from Skipper's suspicious venture. It hadn't seemed like anything more than a shard of glass to the naked eye, however, on closer examination, he found that there was an interesting-
"Wazzat?" Rico pointed to the shard that was now dropped onto the sterile tabletop tray while Kowalski yelled, ejecting himself from the chair out of shock from the sudden appearance of the Sergeant.
"How-" Kowalski struggled to get up while his mind clamored for reasoning. Private was perhaps expected, considering how many questions the lowest rank could come up with at any given time… but this demolition expert was rarely seen unless needed for rigging devices or brute force. "Why are you in my lab?"
"Oop…" Rico pointed to his feathers, pausing for a moment before jabbing his gut to reveal he glowed when compressed. Kowalski groaned, before quickly switching into medic mode in order to assess his shining patient. Out of the corner of his eye, motion from the door Rico had left open made him shake his head.
"Come in, Private." The tallest bird yanked open the scarred beak to take notes about the faint glow coming from his gullet. "Are you sure you didn't swallow anything reactive before the tests this morning?"
"Nuh-uh." Rico did his best to reply while the other held his maw open. Private timidly waddled over to the intimidating duo, tapping his flipper tips together.
"Kowalski, do you suppose Skipper will be back soon?"
"Could be, or it may be days before his return…"
"-Ays?" Rico could only pronounce half the word with the surprisingly strong grip the acting commander had.
"Three, four… maybe five." Kowalski guesstimated how many days, weeks, or even months before their leader returned. Of course, he too hoped it would be on the sooner side.
"-Ah, I…er was-osta -es awa!" Rico protested before the Brainiac shook his head.
"I know, Skipper was supposed to test our wall-scaling abilities but that training is postponed until further notice." Kowalski finally gave Rico his beak back, causing the other to snap it shut and topple backward slightly. Private then whimpered, before something sparkling on the table caught his attention.
"Hey!" He attempted to reach for the shard.
"Oh no you don't!" Kowalski easily reached the counter from his lofty seat. "Classified."
"I don't need clearance to know Skippah didn't want you messing with that…" Private growled.
"No, if I recall correctly, which I always do…" At the askance glances from both Private and Rico, with a sigh, Kowalski kept his ego in check. "Most of the time… he said he didn't need testing, not that it was prohibited."
"We all saw how out of sorts he was this morning!" Private advocated, standing up for the true commander. "Who knows what danger he is trying to spare us and the rest of the Zoo from… all alone. He could need our help right now!"
"Precisely why I am doing these… preliminary studies." The scientist slid a microscope over, mentally patting himself on the back for the clever rewording, keeping true to the request not to do any testing. Private was still unamused at the borderline workaround to Skipper's demands.
"I suppose…" Even so, the usually obedient lowest rank peeped up to inspect the slide being prepped for analysis. "We should know what is going on -to better help in case of an emergency. Not that Skipper would need our help but-"
"Shhh." Rico put a flipper to the Brit's beak, watching Kowalski pipette some sort of stabilizing gel and placing the shard between the tiny, thin, glass plates. Finally, he carefully looked through, adjusting the knobs to focus on the structure carefully.
"Egads!" He rose up, blinking a little before looking back, with the same suspenseful shock.
"What! Lemme see, lemme see!" Private waited for Kowalski to allow him to hop up on the chair to look and was then astounded by the bright swirling colors. It was just like he had seen on the latest episode of the Lunacorns. "Magic!?"
"Yes." Kowalski slapped himself as Skipper would have. "What-no! Magic doesn't exist." He chuckled a little after getting so caught up in the stunning phenomena. "This defies explanation, but it is an anomaly I will quickly study and understand, like my last eight scientific discovery achievements."
Rico, who had momentarily returned to his brief hippie state while entranced by the waves of color viewed through the lens, proceeded to give the scientist a questioning look. Kowalski deflated slightly.
"Okay, fine… seven." He sighed once more, still upset that his new discovery had indeed been documented by another scientist previously.
"Hold on then." Private was partaking in the dangerous pastime of thinking, and put two and two together. "That thing that floated to the ground from Skipper… wasn't it that, what was it-the Pigeon's Precious Pearlescent Plume?"
"Legendary Feather of the Crystal Falcon." Kowalski corrected, having it all documented on his trusty clipboard.
"Yeah, do you think this scrap might be a piece of it?" Private scratched the side of his head with a flipper tip, ruffling his feathers a bit.
"A barb." Kowalski rolled his eyes a little at Private stating what he had determined immediately. "Obviously."
"Hey, there's no need to make me feel silly." The chap sighed. "I'm only tryin' to help."
"I know, but right now it is imperative I figure out what causes this shifting process." Kowalski looked back at the microscope.
"Shouldn't the name be a clue? It says it is a Crystal Feather, of the Legendary sort, so isn't that the easy way to classify the material?" Private tried to help Kowalski again, but the tall bird shook his head gently.
"Good thinking… but this cannot be any normal Crystal." He tried to reason with the information he knew about gemstones and geology. "Crystals are constant, but this fragment has none of the typical formations seen in other geodes…"
As the pair nearby shared a worried look, Kowalski started setting up other gems and solvents for testing. Finally, Rico put a flipper on the table.
"Skipper!" He asserted, reminding Kowalski that their leader might be in trouble without his team. Kowalski still didn't seem worried, having more experience and intel regarding these solo missions.
"I'm sure he will be back as soon as he finishes business at the… undisclosed building." Come to think of it, this time he had no lead in case of emergency, not even as the second in command. "We can always do a quick perimeter check and perform reconnaissance, but Skipper didn't seem worried, so we shouldn't be either."
"That does make me feel a little better." Private smoothed his feathers, before bringing up another point. "Besides, he might be having a date!"
"Preposterous!" The scientist was quick to correct the Private again. "Where do you dream up these ideas?"
"I-" Private put his flippers out, a bit annoyed, before giving the logical lieutenant apt evidence for his claim. "He was acting funny, and mentioned not seeing any ladies… but we all know how Skipper gets when it comes to the fog of romance."
"Oh no." Kowalski thought back to every time starry-eyed Skipper had made some less than rational decisions in the wake of rose-colored glasses. "If it is… a date, then who-"
It dawned on all three penguins at once.
"Crystal Falcon…" Private whimpered. "You don't think-"
"Kitka!" Rico shook his head, remembering the lovey-dovey montage that took up most of their day when their leader met her. From that thought, the trio was left to come up with options for worst-case scenarios and plan to make a quick rescue mission.
Across the way, in the afternoon's warm light, Skipper concocted his plan using the New York Welcome Rico had splurged for him. He held up the sextant to recalculate the angles, wishing he had Kowalski to double-check the math… when the falcon lady nearby interrupted his repetitive train of thought.
"That looks complicated." She darted her head around, inspecting the tool with expert vision.
"Oh, this? I've been using one for years." He puffed up while trying not to lay it on too thick.
"Will it help us get inside the building?" Kitka had no clue how it worked but knew he was doing his best to figure out the perfect way in.
"Sure." He spotted a few windows that were less crowded, and in camera blind spots on the upper wall. The penguin then laid out the other items they would be using. "We can scale up to that little window and pry it open with this crowbar… if that doesn't work brute force has never let me down."
Kitka cringed a little at the idea of using dynamite to break into a museum, but then she pointed a wing at the eyepatch. "What is that for?"
"Disguise." Skipper slipped it on, raising a feathered brow at her. "Arrg-lluring, isn't it?"
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the slight smile that betrayed her cold shoulder earlier. A second later, she returned to start sauntering towards the destination again. Skipper folded the rucksack back around the items to follow her.
"Hey," He whispered slightly. "Working together is necessary to make this a clean operation."
"I'm fine with that." She kept a wall up, hoping he couldn't figure out a way around it like with their plan to breach the MET's defenses.
Skipper resisted the urge to request to start over from square one. That never worked, and he knew it was a constant dull pain to keep baggage from relationships… but it was part of life and living with your decisions. This wasn't the first time, either, but he knew she felt it too.
"Miss Kitka, I'd do anything for you." It wasn't another flirt, but a penguin making a sincere statement. "If I knew how to take away your heartache I would."
"Stop." She said, coldly.
Skipper felt his heart drop, before he saw her face, and realized her harsh reply wasn't about his words, entirely.
Up at the top of the building was a brigade of pigeons, hundreds of eyes glaring at the couple from their high ground. Their plan to scale the wall was voided, they would not be able to reach the window in time.
The commander nudged her to follow his lead as he began to slide away from the building, already rethinking their options before recalling an overgrown section of the park that could provide enough cover to sneak in… if they had enough of a distraction.
"I have a new plan, but we need a diversion." He surveyed their surroundings.
"There!" Kitka swooped, alerting him to a food truck nearby about to receive a new case of sesame seeds.
"Perfect." Skipper took out the eyepatch and aimed it like a slingshot to fire some pebbles in three key locations all in quick succession. First, the walkway to make the delivery man stumble, then the box itself, and then, the flap that held thousands of delectable seeds back.
In a rain of pigeon delight, the street and grass were coated in piles of the bread topping, drawing the attention of every rock dove in sight. Now was their one chance to make it inside undetected, as a bonus, several people had been distracted.
As fast as lightning, the pair dove for a lower window, Skipper deftly prying it open with a crowbar. After Kitka landed, he was able to seal the opening back, spotting several paintings and pieces of furniture belonging to the American Wing.
With the first part of their mission complete, they recouped behind a roped-off desk to think of their next move now that they had finally made it inside.