All right everyone, this is the chapter you were waiting for.
Heh, Beboots was right, I too was a little unsure of not placing
Randall in the first thing, but this is the first chapter, the one
before was the Prologue.
Anyway. This chapter focuses on Randall and his crew during a heist.
You get to see how Randall has lived his life the past couple years
(that's right, years).
Caylin also comes in to add comedy as well as Fungus.
I'm particularly proud of this chapter, as it was planned out for the start.
Recall this first part when Randall's writing a letter....
Enjoy and review . Oh yeah. Pitbulllady, Light Rises, I want to know what you guys think too
Dear Mom and Dad,
Today was probably out biggest hit. I thought dropping into Hayes' Gossiper Town was a bad idea, but being insistent led us to a barren treasure trove on Island Eingedy. I know, it may seem like stealing, but whomever owned it is probably in a grave right?
Anyway, I hope that sellin our find, or at least my part anyway, would get me one step closer to finding ya. Of course, have to live through this one but that's not going to be a problem.
Wish me luck, I'll write again soon....
Your Son,
Randall
Location: Airship Pandora
Time 4:56 A.M. January 12 2034
Randall gently closed the head of his diary, placing the pen aside, the ink still dripping from its broken tip. He took the ink bottle in his top right hand, twisting the top on again with his left.
He sighed slightly, moving his red cushioned chair back at an angle, overlooking his cabin, or room as some would call it.
The metal room was comfortable to him. His bed laid in the back left corner, more of a bunk actually. The windows to the back, showing the stern of the ship. His work station on the right, fitted with his diary and ink bottle, a few new plans for engines and weapons, a few pictures piled to the side or forced onto the side of the station, and an untouched glass of Burgundy sitting to the side on a toaster. There was a locker next to his bed, holding a few things and a mirror on the right side wall beside the door.
That was all he really had. His attention shifted to something he saw everyday. Pinned on the wall, corner to the door leading out, was a colored poster ad of someone he knew. The only......recently separated member of his family, his brother Randolph.
His brother Randolph was the only family member he had left. His parents were missing since he was three, and his brother disappearing at age 20, or somewhere around it.
Still, every time he looked at his brother, standing there with a formal look on his face with airships hidden behind clouds and the words "Join The Aviation" printed on it, he always felt him around somewhere. A sort of "Would you stop starring at me!? I won't quit ok!?" kind of reminder.
Felt glad he saved the poster.
He looked back down at his diary. Red leather with a golden bound. He'd brought it himself years ago, always making accounts to show his family when he finally found them. He had gone so far now. Once part of the Aviation with a promise of a position above Major, the next...a freelance captain of the Rough Riders.
His past thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, its old hinges creaking slightly at the movement. It was Fungus. The Rider's chief mechanic and know-it-all. Though Randall came up with many designs, Fungus went to do the work. Given the nickname "Sparks" by a few of the pilots and fighters. Although Randall does tend to blast at him, Fungus seems to like it.
"Yeah Fungus?" Randall asked. He was in the mood for something to happen. Eager, but not angry. "Well...we're right over Wingedy" he informed, fixing his glasses and looking down at the clipboard in his hand. Randall rose from his chair, seeming more ready than ever.
"Get everybody ready...." He said. Fungus, having hear this before, closed the door to get everyone ready for a briefing.
Randall turned his attention to the dark green locker to the side of his bed. Heading over and unlocking it, he looked over its containments. Two sets of clothes. One was a white shirt and a thin blue leather over-shirt. He wore it on occasions when he went to the public. The leather over-shirt also had a holster for the Magnum sitting near the top of the locker. For what Randall liked to call "special occasions".
The second was a black demi jacket with a fur collar. It was the on Randall grabbed. He wore it on missions, a suit for action he calls it.
Shifting it around on his back and slipping both sets of hands through, he zipped up to his chest, not wanting to be too hot since it was like summer outside.
He had almost forgotten something. Turning his attention to his tail. Grabbing it gently with a hand, he took off the Velcro black band around near the tip, placing it back in his locker.
His tail had saved him a lot of times, which was one of the reasons why he took care of it. The tail warmer was only used on the ship, a waste on a mission. Plus, it was the only one that he owned.
Placing it back in, he started to head out, closing the locker with his tail. "Oh....right" he reminded himself. He turned around and grabbed the glass sitting on the side.
"Heh.....to the boys with the lowest luck who get all the riches...." He toasted, holding the glass up above him.....then taking it down in one second flat.
Randall closed the door to his cabin, walking down a narrow path with his hands in the four pockets of the demi. He stopped after a couple steps, turning to look out the port windows, the sun shining straight through the clouds. Randall lifted a hand to shade his eyes as he looked forward at the clouds slowly drifting by. He knew what was outside well.
The long, almost banjo shaped scaffold fitted with study metal plating. The fixed under the body, gently spinning in a circular motion. The glass fitted in the lookout stations, the automatic cannons fixed up and on the diagonal end of the airship's top. The machine gun assault mechs on the stern and bowl of the ship. The briefing and command deck to the front, everyone waiting.
Everyone waiting?
"Ah! I can sightsee later!" Randall scowled himself, turning tail and jogging to the command deck, knowing he wasted a few minutes already.
Fungus had gotten everybody out into the briefing deck, wondering what was taking Randall. But then again, Randall was one not to be worried about.
The briefing room was circular. Its front fitted with bulletproof and shatter-proof glass, highly thick. Ahead of it was two control stations, which controlled the ships movements, now on auto-pilot. There were several panels left and right controlling minimal systems. There were two diagonal sets of chairs and stations leading to the metal slid-up entrance door. In the middle of it all was Randall's empty station.
The group consisted of 14 deck workers, 22 pilots, and 6 mechanics, counting Fungus, were all stationed around a hologram grid panel table. The ground around it was de-elevated. The elevated ground around was boarded with rails, which some took as a hanging or sitting position.
"Where's the cap'n?" one of them called out. "Yeah....were is he Fungus....Randall's not one to be late on a mission" another said. Fungus was in the middle of it all, waiting in front of the grid.
"I.....I don't know what's keeping him" Fungus replied. On cure, the door opened. Everyone looking to see Randall step through.
"Cool your jets boys....I'm here" he said, soothing back his fronds and straightening his jacket. Heading over to them, jumping over a rail and landing gracefully with ease on the ground then going over to Fungus.
"Alright boys and girls....lets get this show on the road" Randall finally began, tapping a switch on the holo-projector.
A graphic appeared in mid-air, surrounded by green light. The graphic, in the middle, showed a long, curved island of some sort, slightly wavy graphics around it for the ocean.
"Alright....today we'll be hunting down an old shaft with Iris Crystals" Randall started, pointing to a large mountain-;like elevation on the island trip.
"Rumor has it that our old friends from the Aviation mine here to trade for metal and supplies..." Randall snickered, a few joining in.
"But if the Aviation mines there, won't they have an airship waiting there?" Fungus butted in. Randall chuckled.
"Ha!....Those idiots work on two shifts....from now....We have at least a little bit over an hour to collect our prices....more than enough".
"Heh....I thought you said the mine belonged to someone else Rand...." One of the pilots, Caylin, remarked.
"Well it did.....that is before the Aviation came....in a word they stole it.....we've just....taking back what belongs to the people....and aren't we in that category?" Randall smirked, another round of chuckles following.
"Alright boys.....we set up a ground team to search for the mine....if lucks on our side we can find some trolleys and just use the Carry-All to bring'em up".
"You going again boss?" asked one of the mechanics, Odri. Randall straightened again. "Of course! The captain just doesn't sit around drinking Burgundy all the time......though I would like it....". A chuckle followed.
"Well.....Let Operation Snatch & Go commence!".
The Hanger was at the back of the airship. The Hanger doors were at the back, a one fourth oval bottom would slide downward into an open slit, allowing aircraft to shoot outward then down. The hanger inside was just as machine-like.
In the middle was a long blue metallic walkway, which was actually the take off and landing stripe. The two sides of the stripe were where the aircraft hung. The top of each aircraft were held with a retractable metal hook, which went through the pull-up hook for docking. Most of the craft's were modified versions of the current Aviation aircrafts, though fitted with flack cannons an lighter machine guns. They each, except two, were held up by metal pliers They were lowered by mechanics and machinery, piloted, and sent out. There was also a walkway suspended above the front of the hanger, connecting to the dock station and doors to the rest of the ship. There were also "grab nets" just incase, for Incoming Emergencies.
Randall, the four for the ground team, and two pilots waited over the catwalk at the back of the hanger, waiting for the Carry-All to be prepped.
The hanger door wasn't open yet, the only light being the overhead bulbs. "Ah......only a few minutes now..." Randall said to himself, voice echoing. Fungus and Caylin were beside him, looking out.
"What are we getting paid?" Caylin asked, looking to Randall, but he simply shrugged.
"Paid? Who said we were getting paid? We turn in what we can into weaponry and new aircraft, some pleasure items and give the rest to the public.....after all....we are suppliers. Randall reminded.
"I'm not sure about this...." Fungus mumbled, his voice echoing for Randall to hear. "Stop worrying....we'll get our grab and be out before those lug heads from Aviation get here....besides....what change would a transport and it's escort have against us?" Randall asked, knowing the answer all too well in fact.
"Hey captain!"
The three looked down over the ceiling to see Odri. "Yeah" Randall said, stretching the word. "Overall One is prepped and ready to go!" She on boys...".
The Carry-All was the main transport for the RR's. Its grand metal plating inches thick, heavy armor. It was long and shaped like a backwards gun.
Its front nose had a small glass across the cockpit. Randall had made sure of the design to low the hit rate percentage on the cockpit. Heading back was, in the middle, the wings. However, these wings were turbo propellers, able to help land and push the ship in any direction. They were amped up fans, circular fans, in simple terms.. The tail ended in the same manner with the cargo door under it.
It was Randall's hope to find material to make the transport faster, stronger, but so far he was happy with it. Painted dark green, a color he and Caylin decided on together, and a color Randall liked.
Stepping inside, the cargo area could hold one, perhaps two fighters inside, but they wouldn't need them for this operation.
Randall and the ground crew entered, taking the seats near the start of the inside. The seats had tail holes and could also fold-in for fighter transport.
Randall waited for everyone to take a seat, hanging on to a support strap over-head. Once everyone was seated, he started.
"Ok....a simple snatch and take routine....but just in case they left some stationeries" he started, turning to a box behind him, which Odri had brought in earlier. He took it in his bottom hands, opening it with his top set.
"Now....". He set it down. "There are five rifles in here and one grenade launcher......first one to find it won't have to pay for the victory drinks when we get to Lombardo!" he announced.
On an instant, everybody went to grab for one.
"Oh captain!!!"
Randall had it in his hands, snickering. "Four arms come in handy don't they?".
The red warning lights showed as the Carry-All drew backward, the turbines of its propellers echoing through the whole hanger, making voices impossible to decipher.
The aircraft backed up near the end of the runway, its propellers rotating, the inner pointing forward and backward.
The hanger doors slowly shifted downward, the creaking of metal accompanying the turbines.
Soon the doors finally arrived in the slit just under the Hanger's hull. Just as it did, the Carry-All shot forward, dropping into the sky as it side spun and evened, heading for the island.
The Carry-All had found a grassland clearing just a few yards from the cavern mine. Randall came out of the landed craft first, headset on. The other five members followed him out.
"Alright...through a few trees, maybe a hill or two and we've got it" Randall said, edging his head forward, the grenade launcher in his hands.
Caylin had been tipping the chair of Fungus's station in the cockpit, Fungus looking out the front of Pandora's front thick glass. Caylin bluttered his mouth in boredom. He was a pilot, not a navigator or anything like that.
He stopped, crossing his legs, missing his tail tip, looking over at Fungus.
"Boy...you know...I half wish that those Aviation guys would shop up so I can get a little action in...I mean jeez...I'm surprised Randall ain't bored" Caylin complained, kicking his feet up from the floor, making the chair spin, and accidentally taking his tail along with the cylinder bolt connected to the chair.
"Whoa!!!"
He twisted around, landing on the metal floor, his tail taking his place on the chair.
"Err....".
Fungus turned back from looking outside as Caylin got up.
"We need new chairs...." Caylin mumbled, rubbing his tail.
He completely missed the radar screen behind him, which had a small dot closing into the one in the middle.
Meanwhile....
Randall and the ground team had found the mine a quarter of the mile off, its entrance sticking to the mountainside. There was a set of tracks from the mine they had followed, probably the Aviations drop point was where they started finding the tracks.
Grabbing a torch and heading in, Randall instantly became pleased as his light flashed over a lone cart on the track a few feet inside the mine. The green-blue glass-like shards piled in, probably a hundred of them inside.
Randall grinned, tapping the earpiece, he confirmed the find.
"Boys...get those drinks ready ha ha!"
He expected someone from the ground team or the airship, but a hardly heard female voice called through the speaker.
"I don't think so Zackery!".
Randall edged back and gulped, shocked. There was only one person who called him by his middle !?"
Randall quickly got out, pushing two of the ground team and stopping on an elevated boulder slab.
Scanning the skies, he finally found what he was looking for.
"Your SO naïve squire"
Behind a cloud cover approached a black metal plated airship. Its simplistic design was that of a zeppelin. But this one had five broad side cannons on each side, a flat top with torpedo hatches, and a picture of swan pained on the side.
Randall knew what it was. The Black Swan, Ruby's airship. She'd given the same name to her personal craft, a little admirable.
"It was easier than I thought, you didn't even suspect!"
Randall grinned, crossing his arms. "A trap...hmph...and a stupid one at that"
"Oh Zackery...you still don't get it...oh well...in any case...the Iris are mine along with your scaly hide!"
Randall could tell Ruby was serious, but he wasn't moved at all.
"...Looks like I'm going to have some fun after all"
Always cool Randall heh.
Anyway. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and have noticed a couple things from the mentioned criteria.
Will Randall trip this trap? Is Ruby going to get the best of Randall? Will Caylin get his wish of the Aviation arriving?
Stay tuned!