I is for Idle

The world around him was familiar, but out of focus…so out of focus. He blinked, but it only seemed to make things fuzzier. His brain felt like it was wrapped in cotton gauze and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep.

"Oh no you don't."

The voice was gruff, but not unkind. He thought that he probably should have been able to place who it was coming from, but his brain didn't want to click into gear. It just wanted to shut down.

"Blade. Blade look at me."

He blinked, had there was a face looking down at him. He knew that he should have been able to place a name to that face, but any of his thoughts seemed to be caught in molasses. He tried to reach out to them, but they kept on slipping beyond his reach.

"Maru, you better get that heat up and running ASAP because the Chief engine just dropped out of idle!"

His engine…yes, his engine was quiet. He was pretty sure that it wasn't supposed to be quiet like that, but he had forgotten what he was supposed to do to keep it going. He had forgotten anything that wasn't the current moment.

"I am doing my slagging best. Just keep him awake as best you can!"

These words were said by another voice. One that spoke to his soul. It made him want to obey the words, but he was just too cold and tired.

"Winco!"

The vehicle in front of him shifted to be sitting right in front of him, but even in these close quarters, the gigantic aircraft was little more than a shadow.

"Blade…Damn it, Blade keep your eyes open."

He wanted to listen to the order. He really did, but he was just so cold…just so tired. His heavy eyelids slid closed and there was nothing that the shouting plane could do to convince him to pry them open as sleep sucked him into blackness.

When Blade bubbled back up to consciousness the first thing felt was the comfortable warmth that surrounded him. There was the smell of wood smoke and the comforting crackle of a fire. The combination made him feel safe, and it made him want to slip back into the cocoon of sleep. And he honestly would have, it wasn't for the uncomfortable pressure that told him it was time to hit the latrine.

After fighting his oil pan for a few more long minutes Blade finally sighed heavily and forced his heavy eyes open…only to find Maru parked at his nose

"Well, hello there." The mechanic smirked up at him. "I am glad you decided to finally join us."

Blade had so many questions, but he focused on the most pressing issue and croaked, "Latrine."

"Ah." Maru gave a knowing smile. "Let me go fetch a bucket."

The helicopter desperately wanted to protest, but he was too slagging tired to argue so he allowed Maru to help with the necessary. With his oil pan empty, Blade could feel himself getting dragged back into sleep. His eyes grew heavy and he almost managed to slip back into dreams when Maru have him a sharp whack a crossed the nose.

"Eat first, then you can sleep."

Once again Blade wanted to protest, but Cabbie brought over a tall mug of soup and Blade tanks gave out a long rumble of hunger. The helicopter realized just how starving he was, and he practically inhaled the meal. Only once the mug was licked clean did he look at his companions.

"What happened?" He asked trying to make sense of the jumble of memories.

"Hypothermia." Cabbie replied flatly as he moved to refill the mug.

"It was rather touch and go there for a while." Maru added as he sipped from his own bowl of soup. "But we were luckily able to get your engine block warmed up before all of the oil in it tried to turn to jello."

"Ah." Blade replied, still struggling to organize his thoughts. But that didn't matter. There was another mug of soup in front of him and even though it had come from a can, the salty broth still tasted amazing. As his tank filled with the comfortingly warm liquid, Blade could feel his eyes trying to once again slide closed.

"Go to sleep Blade." Maru smiled as he gave helicopter a soft pat on the side of his nose. "We will be here when you wake up next."

This time Blade simply yawned in reply and went back to sleep.

Term – Idle – Idle refers to an engine that is running when a vehicle is not in motion. During idle, there is no load on the engine except for any accessories such as AC or the radio. While idling can produce pollution and is discouraged in areas where a vehicle is parked, it does allow a vehicle to rapidly transition into motion which is why cars idle at red lights. Idling can also be a useful tool to keep an engine warm and functioning in extreme weather/elevation conditions, which is why pilots will often keep aircraft engines at least at an idling during polar or high mountain winter rescue missions.