Author's Note: Story prompt suggested by Ilikeminecraftgaming.


Z is for Zephyr


It was a well-known fact that when it came to radio communication planes talked with planes, boats talked with boats, semis talked to semis, and Cabbie pretty much spoke to anyone who would give him the time of day. Cabbie had even apparently figured out how to have conversations with submarines…which Maru did admit was technically possible, but the mechanic still wasn't completely convinced that old plane had actually pulled it off. It was a fact of life that really entertained the smokejumpers, because they while everyone knew the old bird to be quiet and mild mannered while speaking to someone in person, wall talking on the airways he could be anything but.

Cabbie was particularly notorious for finding interesting conversations to keep himself entertained whenever he was on a cross-country flight. So, it wasn't particularly surprising when the Piston Peak Smokejumpers felt Cabbie bank, circle and then slow while they were on flight heading to support a fire in Colorado. Nor when they surprised when Cabbie started talking in a voice that was quiet enough that they couldn't understand his words, but loud enough that they could deck plates gently vibrating underneath their treds.

"WHO YOU TALKING TO?" Avalanche finally asked when it seemed like conversation had finally reached a bit of a lull.

Cabbie paused a moment, and then turned on his cargo bay speakers. "The California Zephyr."

The old plane took a few more seconds, and then he patched another radio feed into the cargo bay. Instantly a distinct midwestern voice blossomed in the space telling a story about a particularly intense blizzard they had had to fight their way through. Instantly the smokejumpers relaxed and settled in for this evening's entertainment. They were not disappointed as the train currently making the California Zephyr route and Cabbie swapped stories as the both crossed the long expanse of the Nevada desert.

The two vehicles kept each other company until the Zephyr pulled into the station in Elko, Nevada, at which point Cabbie increase speed and pointed his nose towards the Wendover airport in Utah to refuel for the long night flight ahead.


Author's Note: Well we have made it to the end of the alphabet. But fear not, the story isn't done yet and I will return to the letter A soon.