Author's Note: Five years ago I put pen to paper for the first time to write 'That Others Might Live.' Now it is time to return to that moment in time, and give you the sequel because the movie has given us another time skip that needs a little filling. This is my NaNoWriMo project for this year and I hope that you will enjoy it!
Chapter 1: Leaving
"I am so sorry, but I am going to have to put your team on administrative leave."
Blade had known that something bad was about to happen when Superintendent Jammer refused to meet the helicopter's eyes when he had rolled into his office. But that didn't stop a cold lump from forming in his throat as the ranger spoke.
"I was at least able to make sure that it was paid administrative leave, but the call for the team to be investigated for this is coming all the way from Washington DC, and not even Secretary of the Interior can stand against Congress when they get something in their head."
Frustration was practically exuded from every inch of Jammer's frame, and Blade couldn't help but wonder how long the arguments had been going on. How Jammer had been bearing this burden alone as he had also been fighting to meet the needs of the rest of the park.
"They are giving you 72 hours to vacate the base so the federal personal that they are sending have the space to complete their independent investigation. You will need to have all of your after-action reports completed before you leave."
For the first time Jammer allowed his eyes to flick upward and look straight into Blades.
"I tried to tell them that the base wasn't just where you work, but it is also your home. And for some of you, it is the only home you have. They didn't really listen. The investigators are going to pretty much have the authority to go through anything they want while they are there, so if…if you have anything personal that would prefer that others don't touch. You can either take those with you or place those items in labeled boxes and leave them with me."
Jammer let out a rueful, bitter laugh.
"Technically I am supposed to have someone keep an eye on you when you do your packing, but honestly, I trust you all. You and your team were exemplary firefighters who saved so many lives. You don't deserve to have your lives upended and your names dragged through the mud like this."
The Superintendent broke eye contact as he used a tire to slide a thick folder of papers towards Blade.
"This should explain everything, but if you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to give me a ring and I will find the answers."
Jammer's eyes flicked upwards to meet Blade's once again for one brief moment.
"And Blade…again, I am so sorry that I wasn't able to prevent this."
"Don't worry." Blade did his best to smile, but he knew that the slight curve of his lips didn't reach his eyes. "We are a tough bunch. We will make it through things just fine."
Blade closed Jammer's office door on his way out. Even as the door snicked shut, it was clear that the other vehicles in the makeshift offices knew what had just happened. The Chief took a deep breath and did his best not to allow his emotions to show through. He held his rotors high and kept his gaze straight ahead as he rolled out into the lodge's lobby. But even though he didn't look back, Blade could feel the pity in the stares of every ranger as he passed, and the pity nearly broke him.
Both Cabbie and Maru had been waiting on the tarmac when Blade had returned. The old plane had taken one look at the helicopter then spoke. "Do you want everyone now, or do you need a moment?"
Blade sighed, knowing that there was no use in hiding the situation from the rest of base, but also needed a bit of time to process himself. "Give me an hour, Cabbie. Maru and I will use that time to go through the paperwork I was sent up with…will you get everyone gathered into the main hanger while we work on that?"
"Yes sir." The old plane said with a level of formality that made Blade feel even more on edge. For a few moments, Blade even considered spilling the beans right then and there, but he knew he only had enough energy to tell this story once and he needed to make sure that he had all of the information straight before doing it.
Cabbie was the first to leave their huddle, probably to chase down his smokejumpers and make sure they gave the Chief a wide berth. Maru, on the other tine, stayed for several rotor beats more. He searched Blade's face, but when it became clear that the helicopter wasn't going to cough up any answers, he also gave a long sigh.
"So." Maru did his best to break the tension by smirking up at his friend. "With sugar or without?"
"With sugar." Blade finally replied after he realized that he was going to need all of the energy he could get.
Maru raised an eyebrow at that but didn't murmur anything in reply. Instead, the mechanic made a beeline to the main hangar to go fetch the two of them some coffee, leaving Blade a little more space to collect his thoughts. He breathed, trying to steady his shaky emotions, then he forced himself to start rolling towards his hangar.
As he moved, he could see the various other members of the base peeking out at him. Patch from her tower and Windlifter from the edge of the woods. Dipper was pretending that she was watering her flowers, but Blade could tell that she was mainly watching him because the spray of water was completely missing the planter. Thankfully, the other vehicles were smart enough to keep their distance, because Blade was pretty sure that he would snap if he was forced to participate in small talk at that moment.
The following hour felt like an eternity and the blink of an eye. He had split the stack of papers with Maru with both of them pouring through the text in an attempt to figure out the true extent of the mess that they were in. According to the document, Maru was technically allowed to stay because he was only listed as a witness for the events of the Great Piston Peak Fire instead of an actual participant in the events…which got a snort out of the mechanic who knew that he had been as tines deep in the incident as everyone else. But the paperwork also acknowledged that Maru had the option to take administrative leave. Blade suspected that Jammer had pushed for that to be included knowing full well that Maru would choose to follow the rest of the team to the ends of the earth.
Dusty was completely missing from the paperwork, which wasn't too surprising. The SEAT was technically only a trainee on loan and was formally a member of the Propwash Junction firefighting service. Due to those facts, Blade suspected that a thick envelope of forms had been delivered to Mayday to deal with. But Blade didn't have much time to focus on Crophopper's mess. The racer had resources that the rest of them didn't…primarily a home.
Scrolling through everyone's emergency forms it was clear that some of his people had places to go, while others were going to be homeless in just a few short hours. On the most housing secure side of things was Windlifter. His family hangar was close by but given the age of his kids, Blade doubted that he would have extra space to help take shelter any other members of the team.
Cabbie and the smokejumpers were a mixed bag. Some, mainly Avalanche and Drip, could crash back with their parents without much of an issue. It would be tight, but Blade suspected that Blackout could sleep in the living room of his grandmother's place until he got his tires back under him. Pinecone and Dynamite, on the other tire, would probably both choose to sleep rough rather then run back to their families. And Cabbie, well Cabbie's bulk would make it very difficult for him to find alternative accommodations. He might be able to hangar surf with some of his friends and Pickles for a few days or if he was lucky a few weeks, but there was a limit to how long he could visit before starting to collect ramp fees.
Then there were the members of the team that simply had absolutely nowhere to go. Patch's house was filled with renters for the summer, Lil' Dipper's winter employer wouldn't need her for a few more months, and Blade, well Piston Peaks was the only home he had left. It was an absolute utter mess, but the Chief was determined to find a way to find all of his employees a safe place to land even if he couldn't manage to keep a roof over their heads or even his own head.
The clock ticked relentlessly on and soon it was time for Blade to face the music. It was time to lay the problem before his team and see if they could unlock a solution. Maru gathered up the papers while Blade nosed open the hangar door. The two vehicles rolled down the hill in silence towards the gaping maw of the main hangar's oversized doors. Even from a distance Blade could see his team watching him from inside. Even from a distance, he could see that they were scared. He wished that he had the ability to comfort them…but he knew such words didn't exist.
"Thank you for joining me on such short notice." Blade's voice echoed in the cavernous space as Maru closed the hangar doors behind them. "People, we've got a problem."
"You are still our Chief, right?" Drip interrupted the little skid steer clearly on the edge of tears.
Blade let out a long breath, unsure what the best way to answer the question. He decided that it was probably best to just acknowledge the full complexity of the problem. "Yes and no."
"Meaning?" Patch pushed, clearly unamused.
"Meaning, they haven't fired me, but they have put all of us…" Blade paused and gave Maru a pointed look. "Well, all of us, except for Maru and technically Dusty, on administrative leave."
"The aftermath of the fire has finally got up with us then." Cabbie settled heavily on his tires as though he didn't have a care in the world. It was a reaction that caught Blade completely off guard.
"Wait…" Blade could feel anger starting to bubble up in his engines for the first time since he had been given the bad news. "You knew this was going to happen."
"I suspected it would." Cabbie allowed his wings to take on a lazy tilt. "With a fire that bad and with that many lives put at risk, it was clear that there was going to be an awful lot of finger-pointing going on, and with Cad gone, we are easy people to blame." The plane's words hung in the air and several of the vehicles had a disgusted look on their face.
"But…" Dusty broke the silence, his eyes darting around to the various vehicles around him. "But weren't we the ones to save the day? Why would they blame us?"
"Politics kid." Maru patted Dusty's side. "Politics."
"I hate politics." Windlifter muttered under his breath, and when he got an amused look from a few of his colleagues he quirked an eyebrow. "What?"
"The helicopter who became a professor has the gall to say that they don't like politics." Maru snorted. "I have heard you regale us with the tales of you using politics to get your way in the English department."
Windlifter opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but Blade put his tire down. "As fun as this discussion may be, we have all just been put on administrative leave and the feds want us off base and out of the park within 72 hours so that their investigators have full reign of our turf. Which leaves us with the question. Where do we end up going from here?"
There was a collective 'oh' from the group and the team started to brainstorm in earnest. After several hours of batting ideas around and quickly determining their holes, Blade was starting to come to terms with the fact that his people were about to be thrown to the four winds, and that it was very possible that several of them were about to become homeless. It was into this despair that Dusty timidly tossed in an idea.
"Why don't you come home with me?"
"Dusty, I know Mayday and by extension Propwash Junction relatively well. We are not going to overwhelm a town by crashing it." The Chief countered.
"You wouldn't be relying on the town. You would be relying on me and while I may choose to live simply, don't underestimate the amount of resources that a world-class racer has at their wingtips." Dusty pursed his lips slightly as he glanced around at the vehicles surrounding him. "You all have given me something that money couldn't buy. You have given me back my career. The least I can do is to offer you a port in this storm."
Blade was about to put teeth into his argument, but then, Maru raised a tine that stopped his argument in its tracks. The mechanic looked the racer straight in the eyes. "That really might work, please, tell us more."