Rapiers and Rocketships

[Tars Tarkus]

The City of Baltimore, October 1936


It was a beautiful clear crisp morning. The snow of last week hid in the shadows of buildings and trees. The greenish blue water of the bay lapped upon the piers and shore. The Pan American Sea Plane terminal was busy with activitiy. The building itself was only two stories tall and it had been a warehouse in the not to distant past. Now passengers and well wishers waited inside drinking coffee and staring out of the large glass windows that faced the bay to watch the "Bermuda Clipper" being prepared for it's flight. Luggage was being put aboard and a pair of smart looking stewardess where climbing the stairs up to the plane. What looked to be the captain and the flight crew chatted and smoked on the concrete ramp that leads down into the waters of the bay. Inside the lounge, a young woman in a Pan Am uniform gets the attention of the waiting crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, if you will follow me we will begin boarding the aircraft." With that the passengers are lead out to the waiting aircraft.

 

[dream66_]

LeeAnn pulled her jacket up around her tighter as she walked to the plane turned to look at her freind Betty who had insisted she come along.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to these Yankee winters. When we get in the warm islands I might just forgive you for dragging me along."

 

[Jarval]

Ben takes a drag on his cigarette, enjoying the slight warmth it provides. He looks down at the Bermuda Clipper with a smile, the aircraft carrying with it a promise of a new, more exciting future at its destination.

"Looks like we're on duty now." Ben comments to the rest of the crew as the passengers start to make their way down from the terminal. He takes a last draw on the cigarette, before tossing it to the ground and carefully grinding it out with the toe of his shoe. He starts to make his way towards the aircraft, smiling at the two young women passengers.

"Looking forwards to the flight?" He asks pleasantly, falling in step with them.

 

[dream66_]

"This will actually be my first time on a plane, so I'm looking forward to it with slight nervious excitement. And certainly looking forward to the destination. I take it your our pilot? I trust I can feel safe in your hands?"

 

[Paxus Asclepius]

Roland watches carefully as his luggage is packed, making certain nothing was damaged. That accomplished, he boards the plane, takes his seat, and swiftly strikes up a conversation with one of the stewardesses.

 

[Jarval]

"This will actually be my first time on a plane, so I'm looking forward to it with slight nervious excitement. And certainly looking forward to the destination. I take it your our pilot? I trust I can feel safe in your hands?"

"First flight, eh? You'll be fine. There's nothing quite like flying, it's the only way to travel." Ben grins, his good mood obvious to anyone paying the slightest attention to him.

"The jacket's the giveaway, right? I am indeed your pilot for today, and I can tell you you've got nothing to worry about. It's a pretty simple route, we've got fine weather, a reliable aircraft, and, even if I say so myself, a pretty good crew. I can't see us having any problems."

 

[Radiant]

Sineads hair is cut to half length and hasn’t been washed in weeks. Not that it matters. She wears stolen clothes that look only slighter cleaner than her hair and together with the black dust on her face you would probably have to throw her into a river to actually notice she is a gal. Not that this matters either. She yawns then she wakes up. Now that does matter. She reflexively pushes a hand over her mouth, accidentally throwing down a bag that lands right on her hand. Well at least her hands over her mouth to stifle her surprised shout. Tough luck, waking up in a cramped storage compartment and trying not to get noticed just sucks. Surprised by the noise her eyes dart around. That is of course pretty useless as the flight companies have yet to install lights for street people who use their planes to sleep in a dry place.
Typical, those folks only think about themselves.
She strains to listen what's going on and immediately regrets it.
Are those the engines? Dear Lord that ain't a good joke you’re pulling there.
She can make out some voices from the outside even if she can't understand what they’re talking about and decides it's the wisest to just stay put and wait for a better chance to get out.
Now if I could just stretch me legs a bit.

 

[Tars Tarkus]

The passengers board the large sea plane. Everyone is excited and the plane is full of conversation. The stewardess' are busy as they help everyone get settled. Though Roland seems to have the attention of the pretty brunette stewardess. Her laugh is heard through out the plane as he tells her a joke.

Sinead is crammed back in the cargo hold between two lashed down crates and she does not have much room to move about. She can hear someone loading luggage at the other end of the hold but she cannot see who it is. Soon she heards someone say "Ok, thats it. Close it up!" and the hold becomes pitch dark as a door is heard to slam shut.

Ben Griffin, enters the cockpit and starts his pre fllight routine with Ted Benson, his co-pilot and Willy Stein, his navigator. The four big engines of the great sea plane start with a roar.

 

[ajanders]

Tom Hogan Sleeps

The heavily built man at the back of the plane stretches luxuriously and yawns as if testing out his new seat.
"Gee, dis is pretty posh."
He takes off his coat and settles down comfortably, pulling his hat low over his eyes to shade them.
"I t'ink I'm actually going to enjoy dis."

 

[Jarval]

"Hey Ted, how's she looking? Nice crate they've got us flying this time." Ben takes his seat at the controls, helping the co-pilot with the routine checks.

"So Willy, anything that might cause us any problems I should know about, or are we in for a smooth run?" He grins back over his shoulder at the navigator. "Oh, and who was the girl I saw you dancing with last night? Quite a looker."