03: Chip Off The Old Block
"Hello, my name is Gadget, and I'm a compulsive inventor."
An Inventor Anonymous meeting.
The plane, the Rangerplane MkII, was an improvement over the haphazard style of its counterpart. Its aluminum shell shown in contrast to its older sisters bleach bottle body. its stub wings with a circular housing at each end for the engines, also showed an improvement to the flapping wings of its predecessor. The MkII's wings could pivot to allow changes in altitude, and the wings lack of size meant that they were less brittle than the Mark I's. The flight time also received a boost; along with the total power and max weight it could carry. The only similarities between the two was the balloon used for ballast and its bird like legs, although the suctions cups were replaced with a more bird like foot on the MkII.
Its cockpit was simple, yet cluttered in comparison to its predecessor. It was equipped with an artificial horizon, a compass, a volt-o-meter, battery life meter, a radio that could listen to air and local radio stations, but the best of all was a GPS system installed in the middle. No more flying around, guessing at your direction, altitude, and how long your electricity would last. No, the plane had all the modern accessories.
The paint scheme was simple, yellow wings and blue on the engine housings, flat black anti-glares markings on the nose and inside motor housings and a polished aluminum frame.
The engines started to emit a low pitch hum as they turned over and started to spin at a reduced RPM. It's occupants, going through a preflight checklist. The mouse in the pilot seat counting off the items as the Chipmunk in the copilot's seat read off.
"Running lights."
Jen verified that the switch was on, "Check."
"GPS synchronized."
Another quick confirmation, "Check."
"Batteries at 9v and steady."
"Check."
The process was repeated for about a minuet. Finally, with the last item checked off, Jen revved the engines, their change in pitch confirming the increase in power. The aircraft slowly floated out of the hangar, and once free, gained altitude. Soon the craft was slowly cursing above the campus. As expected a rodent sized blimp hovering above attracted some attention.
"Is this a private flight, or can any old bat join in?" Magnolia chirped.
"Hop in, I doubt you could keep up, when I open this baby up." Jennifer replied with a slight smirk.
Maggie matched their speed and gracefully slipped in to one of the seats on the starboard side. "I think my books are heavier this year..." She said with a sigh of relief as she removed her backpack and flexed her aching flight muscles. She was to out of shape. School life was making her soft. "...and to many double espressos." She muttered under her breath.
With all of its passengers on board, the plane banked left, almost due west, and started to accelerate. Soon they reach their ideal speed and altitude, and were on their way to the old tree that the trio called home for the first fifteen years of their lives.
* * * *
'Why doesn't any one answer the door?' Foxglove thought to her self. She had been cleaning the tree house and was a little ticked that she had to stop everything to get the door.
Foxy peered through the peephole, then with a startled expression. She forgot her agitation as she threw the door open. "Maggie?"
"Hi Mom, sorry to drop by like this."
"I see you brought company," Foxglove said referring to the twins.
"Hi Aunt Foxglove." They replied in unison.
"Well are you three going to come in, or are you just going to stand there?"
Geegaw elbowed his sister; she saw that mischievous look in his eyes. "Well, I don't know, it's so nice out here." He stated, admiring the park.
Foxglove, being a trusting bat, didn't pick up on the sarcasm in Geegaw's voice. "Suit your self, personally, I find it to bright out there."
Both Geegaw and Jennifer snickered at their running joke. Now it was Jens turn. "We could take the new plane of a spin, there are a few items that I've been meaning to try out. They should work."
Jennifer got the desired response as Foxglove noticeably cringed at that hated phrase. 'It's the Hackwrench reflex' she thought to her self.
Finally, after a minuet of the constant attempts of 'can you top that', in their game of wits, the twins called a draw and entered their old house, leaving Foxglove in a stupor.
* * * *
The morning fog had rolled in, causing the abandoned building to appear like a ghost. Years ago, the complex was a low-income housing project. Now it's just another eye sore.
Its burned skeleton a mire shadows of its former self. Three years ago some drug dealer left a burner on for to long and the resulting explosion removed the top three stories leaving only the bottom two to burn.
This is where the 43 street Tomcats called home. The gang, that had operating under the noses of the humans of the city, now was the top 'dog'.
When Tom's uncle was forced to retired due to twitches, hallucinations, and uncontrolled out bursts, it turned the animal underworld on its head. The resulting mob war removed Tom's only real threat, Ratcapone, in a gang shoot out. Tom had risen to power in the absence of the any large crime lords, and under the noses of the other gangs, slowly incorporating then into his fold. Now he ran the only organized crime ring in town, a total monopoly.
"But, boss, their only rodents. How hard could it be to take care of them?"
A dim-witted cat interrupted Toms train of thought. He had gathered his underlings around a table in the basement of the burned out building.
"Do I have to go over this one more time?" he quarried.
"Ahhh... Yes?" the ally cat said with a vacant look in his eyes.
Tom moaned audibly. "One last time. My uncle was one of the biggest crime lords this town had ever seen, but he went crazy after years of his plans being spoiled by the Rescue Rangers. I'm not going to take them lightly. That's one liability I can live with out.
"I have an advantage," he continued "that my Uncle did not have. Years ago the Rangers had disbanded to raise families and have a normal life. The plan is to hold their offspring for ransom, then kill them."
"Kill the Rangers or their children?" One of Toms quicker Generals asked.
"Yes." Tom said with a maniacal sparkle in his eyes.
* * * *
The Library was housed in a musty old hangar that the rodent aviators of the area had originally built. The renovation had been extensive. The thin walls were reinforced and insolated. The old floodlights were removed and the electrical system was gutted. The hangar doors were removed and a prosthetic was put in its place. Great pains were put into preserving the look and feel of a hangar on the exterior.
The interior was done in an art deco style. Sunroofs were installed to help open the interior. A second story was added and books quickly filled its shelves. A large section in the middle was left open with the second story making one large balcony wrapping the top, with great arches gracing its perimeter.
The library had just opened. The only sign of life was a young looking squirrelet behind the librarian's desk. She wore a causal turtleneck shirt and jeans, yet there was an air of authority about her. She had been a librarian for the school for as long as it's been open, and all the students respected her.
"Bink, I was wondering if you could help me?" The librarian redirected her gaze from the computer monitor to the student requesting her assistance.
Before her stood a chipmunk. He wore a bomber jacket and a fedora and had a presents of a leader. She knew this figure well.
She could barley remember the first time she met Chip. It was when she was young. A crime lord named Fat Cat had kidnapped her and her sister. Chip and the others Rescue Rangers had come in the nick of time, keeping the two squirrels from becoming cat food.
For the longest time, her sister, Tammy had a crush on Chip. Tammy eventually matured far enough to realize that the age gap was to great for it to work and that Chip only had eyes for the then resident Inventor/Aviator/Ranger, Gadget.
"Chipper, what brings you here. Don't you have a class during this time?"
Bink studied the figure as a small smile formed across his mouth.
"Sorry Bink, try again." he said as he raised the brim of his hat to show off his blue eyes.
"Gee, would you stop that. Its not funny any more." The librarian chastised, hitting the chipmunk on the arm with a newspaper.
"Sorry Bink, this time its business. Do you remember an article in last weeks paper about a group of researchers for Cal State Berkley heading to the artic circle to study global warming?"
Bink rubbed her chin momentarily, and flicked her long tail thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I should have the paper on file, but it'll take a moment to find it."
A few key clicks and the article appeared on the screen. "Why the sudden interest in the environment?" She queried.
"Well..." Geegaw started.
"This isn't about the research, is it." She prompted.
"Not really. I guess you could say were going on a research project of are own."
"Your not seriously considering going up there, are you?" The squirrel squeaked in disbelief.
"No were not considering on going, were planning on going." Geegaw said calmly.
"Your not serious, are you?" Bink blurted out in disbelief, forgetting this was a library. "And who is this 'WE' stuff anyways?"
"Who else? Jen, Maggie, Zipper, and myself."
"And what is this 'research' your doing?"
"It's not really research, but a search. It all happened on the Rangers first case. Mom was flying Grandpas old plane, The Screaming Eagle. She tried to land in an area called Glacier Bay. To make a long story short, when landing on snow, use skis on the landing gear." Geegaw paused to catch his breath then continued.
"Mom had to use parts of the plane to make the Rangerwing. The rest of the Eagle was abandoned. She always regretted leaving the only reminder she had of Grandpa behind. It's the one thing that she wishes she could do over."
"Count me in." The squirrel said in reply to the story that was just told.
It was Geegaws turn to be surprised. "Did you just say..."
"I don't stutter, and you ears don't flap. I owe your parents a lot. They've pulled my tail out of the fire more times then I care to remember." Bink said flatly. She turned back to the computer. "Now, the team that's going up is staying near Glacier Bay, a small town that got its name sake from the bay. Their schedule corresponds with our two-week spring break. If we play our cards right, we have a way up and back, plus shelter."
Geegaw could only stammer in shock. New volunteers were coming out of the woodwork.
"Hello, my name is Gadget, and I'm a compulsive inventor."
An Inventor Anonymous meeting.
The plane, the Rangerplane MkII, was an improvement over the haphazard style of its counterpart. Its aluminum shell shown in contrast to its older sisters bleach bottle body. its stub wings with a circular housing at each end for the engines, also showed an improvement to the flapping wings of its predecessor. The MkII's wings could pivot to allow changes in altitude, and the wings lack of size meant that they were less brittle than the Mark I's. The flight time also received a boost; along with the total power and max weight it could carry. The only similarities between the two was the balloon used for ballast and its bird like legs, although the suctions cups were replaced with a more bird like foot on the MkII.
Its cockpit was simple, yet cluttered in comparison to its predecessor. It was equipped with an artificial horizon, a compass, a volt-o-meter, battery life meter, a radio that could listen to air and local radio stations, but the best of all was a GPS system installed in the middle. No more flying around, guessing at your direction, altitude, and how long your electricity would last. No, the plane had all the modern accessories.
The paint scheme was simple, yellow wings and blue on the engine housings, flat black anti-glares markings on the nose and inside motor housings and a polished aluminum frame.
The engines started to emit a low pitch hum as they turned over and started to spin at a reduced RPM. It's occupants, going through a preflight checklist. The mouse in the pilot seat counting off the items as the Chipmunk in the copilot's seat read off.
"Running lights."
Jen verified that the switch was on, "Check."
"GPS synchronized."
Another quick confirmation, "Check."
"Batteries at 9v and steady."
"Check."
The process was repeated for about a minuet. Finally, with the last item checked off, Jen revved the engines, their change in pitch confirming the increase in power. The aircraft slowly floated out of the hangar, and once free, gained altitude. Soon the craft was slowly cursing above the campus. As expected a rodent sized blimp hovering above attracted some attention.
"Is this a private flight, or can any old bat join in?" Magnolia chirped.
"Hop in, I doubt you could keep up, when I open this baby up." Jennifer replied with a slight smirk.
Maggie matched their speed and gracefully slipped in to one of the seats on the starboard side. "I think my books are heavier this year..." She said with a sigh of relief as she removed her backpack and flexed her aching flight muscles. She was to out of shape. School life was making her soft. "...and to many double espressos." She muttered under her breath.
With all of its passengers on board, the plane banked left, almost due west, and started to accelerate. Soon they reach their ideal speed and altitude, and were on their way to the old tree that the trio called home for the first fifteen years of their lives.
* * * *
'Why doesn't any one answer the door?' Foxglove thought to her self. She had been cleaning the tree house and was a little ticked that she had to stop everything to get the door.
Foxy peered through the peephole, then with a startled expression. She forgot her agitation as she threw the door open. "Maggie?"
"Hi Mom, sorry to drop by like this."
"I see you brought company," Foxglove said referring to the twins.
"Hi Aunt Foxglove." They replied in unison.
"Well are you three going to come in, or are you just going to stand there?"
Geegaw elbowed his sister; she saw that mischievous look in his eyes. "Well, I don't know, it's so nice out here." He stated, admiring the park.
Foxglove, being a trusting bat, didn't pick up on the sarcasm in Geegaw's voice. "Suit your self, personally, I find it to bright out there."
Both Geegaw and Jennifer snickered at their running joke. Now it was Jens turn. "We could take the new plane of a spin, there are a few items that I've been meaning to try out. They should work."
Jennifer got the desired response as Foxglove noticeably cringed at that hated phrase. 'It's the Hackwrench reflex' she thought to her self.
Finally, after a minuet of the constant attempts of 'can you top that', in their game of wits, the twins called a draw and entered their old house, leaving Foxglove in a stupor.
* * * *
The morning fog had rolled in, causing the abandoned building to appear like a ghost. Years ago, the complex was a low-income housing project. Now it's just another eye sore.
Its burned skeleton a mire shadows of its former self. Three years ago some drug dealer left a burner on for to long and the resulting explosion removed the top three stories leaving only the bottom two to burn.
This is where the 43 street Tomcats called home. The gang, that had operating under the noses of the humans of the city, now was the top 'dog'.
When Tom's uncle was forced to retired due to twitches, hallucinations, and uncontrolled out bursts, it turned the animal underworld on its head. The resulting mob war removed Tom's only real threat, Ratcapone, in a gang shoot out. Tom had risen to power in the absence of the any large crime lords, and under the noses of the other gangs, slowly incorporating then into his fold. Now he ran the only organized crime ring in town, a total monopoly.
"But, boss, their only rodents. How hard could it be to take care of them?"
A dim-witted cat interrupted Toms train of thought. He had gathered his underlings around a table in the basement of the burned out building.
"Do I have to go over this one more time?" he quarried.
"Ahhh... Yes?" the ally cat said with a vacant look in his eyes.
Tom moaned audibly. "One last time. My uncle was one of the biggest crime lords this town had ever seen, but he went crazy after years of his plans being spoiled by the Rescue Rangers. I'm not going to take them lightly. That's one liability I can live with out.
"I have an advantage," he continued "that my Uncle did not have. Years ago the Rangers had disbanded to raise families and have a normal life. The plan is to hold their offspring for ransom, then kill them."
"Kill the Rangers or their children?" One of Toms quicker Generals asked.
"Yes." Tom said with a maniacal sparkle in his eyes.
* * * *
The Library was housed in a musty old hangar that the rodent aviators of the area had originally built. The renovation had been extensive. The thin walls were reinforced and insolated. The old floodlights were removed and the electrical system was gutted. The hangar doors were removed and a prosthetic was put in its place. Great pains were put into preserving the look and feel of a hangar on the exterior.
The interior was done in an art deco style. Sunroofs were installed to help open the interior. A second story was added and books quickly filled its shelves. A large section in the middle was left open with the second story making one large balcony wrapping the top, with great arches gracing its perimeter.
The library had just opened. The only sign of life was a young looking squirrelet behind the librarian's desk. She wore a causal turtleneck shirt and jeans, yet there was an air of authority about her. She had been a librarian for the school for as long as it's been open, and all the students respected her.
"Bink, I was wondering if you could help me?" The librarian redirected her gaze from the computer monitor to the student requesting her assistance.
Before her stood a chipmunk. He wore a bomber jacket and a fedora and had a presents of a leader. She knew this figure well.
She could barley remember the first time she met Chip. It was when she was young. A crime lord named Fat Cat had kidnapped her and her sister. Chip and the others Rescue Rangers had come in the nick of time, keeping the two squirrels from becoming cat food.
For the longest time, her sister, Tammy had a crush on Chip. Tammy eventually matured far enough to realize that the age gap was to great for it to work and that Chip only had eyes for the then resident Inventor/Aviator/Ranger, Gadget.
"Chipper, what brings you here. Don't you have a class during this time?"
Bink studied the figure as a small smile formed across his mouth.
"Sorry Bink, try again." he said as he raised the brim of his hat to show off his blue eyes.
"Gee, would you stop that. Its not funny any more." The librarian chastised, hitting the chipmunk on the arm with a newspaper.
"Sorry Bink, this time its business. Do you remember an article in last weeks paper about a group of researchers for Cal State Berkley heading to the artic circle to study global warming?"
Bink rubbed her chin momentarily, and flicked her long tail thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I should have the paper on file, but it'll take a moment to find it."
A few key clicks and the article appeared on the screen. "Why the sudden interest in the environment?" She queried.
"Well..." Geegaw started.
"This isn't about the research, is it." She prompted.
"Not really. I guess you could say were going on a research project of are own."
"Your not seriously considering going up there, are you?" The squirrel squeaked in disbelief.
"No were not considering on going, were planning on going." Geegaw said calmly.
"Your not serious, are you?" Bink blurted out in disbelief, forgetting this was a library. "And who is this 'WE' stuff anyways?"
"Who else? Jen, Maggie, Zipper, and myself."
"And what is this 'research' your doing?"
"It's not really research, but a search. It all happened on the Rangers first case. Mom was flying Grandpas old plane, The Screaming Eagle. She tried to land in an area called Glacier Bay. To make a long story short, when landing on snow, use skis on the landing gear." Geegaw paused to catch his breath then continued.
"Mom had to use parts of the plane to make the Rangerwing. The rest of the Eagle was abandoned. She always regretted leaving the only reminder she had of Grandpa behind. It's the one thing that she wishes she could do over."
"Count me in." The squirrel said in reply to the story that was just told.
It was Geegaws turn to be surprised. "Did you just say..."
"I don't stutter, and you ears don't flap. I owe your parents a lot. They've pulled my tail out of the fire more times then I care to remember." Bink said flatly. She turned back to the computer. "Now, the team that's going up is staying near Glacier Bay, a small town that got its name sake from the bay. Their schedule corresponds with our two-week spring break. If we play our cards right, we have a way up and back, plus shelter."
Geegaw could only stammer in shock. New volunteers were coming out of the woodwork.