PoxnersFlight
Page 3
"Poxner, why do I think we've fallen into an even deeper pile of woxon sh--"
"It's time to work out a work-credit plan for you, eh, boys? Omeek: fearless and willing to take risks, you will get formal instruction in piloting. Poxner, your design ideas are elegant and useful. It's engineering for you. And when you two aren't studying to get top marks in class, you will be training here, learning everything from sub-assemblies to janitorial skills. All of it will be important."
"Gee...kind of does sound like prison, Pox."
"I dunno, Meeks. You did demolish this office pretty badly."
"Hey, I wasn't the one who designed upside-down controls!"
"C'mon, think of it this way: we work off the cost to fix this place, and at the same time get training for useful jobs... and it won't cost us anything! "
"Except a lot of sleep."
"Still, not a bad first day in the big city, right, Meeks? Besides, what would you rather do... sleep? Or become a real pilot?"
"That's right, my fledgling helmsman, " said Seijn, "when we're done with you, you'll be able to pilot anything from an ocean liner, aerial tank-transport monsters, all they way down to a three-legged quintasaurus-- if you really need to. But maybe you'd rather fly back home, eh?"
"Uhhhh...nothing for me back home, either, sir. In fact we've left behind a little property damage at the church there as well. And we have yet to pay for that."
"Well, if you fly away from here, future pilot, I'd say you and Poxner would be turning down something good. And I can pay for the damage you've left back home."
"You're giving us a LOAN?"gawked Omeek.
Seijin beamed so magnanimously he was practically phosphorescent.
"Fine, let's call it a loan. So... you boys are out of excuses? So..."
"So..."
"So..."
"Academy for you two?"
"Academy."
"Academy."
"BREEAAUUHHWAAAHHK!!"
"It's all agreed, then, " declared Seijin, "Tech Azambi, give me those papers you have, I'll take care of them, and you can accompany these two new Academy boys to the Admissions and Processing office. Then come right back here, please."
With a silent bow, the technician passed the important-looking sheets of paper to the captain. Poxner, Omeek and Azambi headed back upstairs, leaving the captain and the engineer in the still-smoldering office.
"Woo-Hah, when Azambi comes back, please tell him to get the replacement desk from storage, and move my, um, surviving equipment into the corner office."
"BRAWWWOCCKK!?"
"I've always wanted that office. And you can have this one when we fix it up next week."
"GRRRUUUUAYYUPP!?"
"It's okay. The insurance can pay for it. So win-win, right?"
"LAPRROOWWW-GYPP..."
"Yes. I know. Employee damage only. Lucky thing those boys were hired on the spot, eh?" The captain unfolded the paperwork that Azambi had given him, and produced a pen. "How do you spell 'Omeek' again? And remind me to back-date these employment forms to yesterday. Or a few days before this incident."
"BRAAWW-BOWHOW...TSK!"
"I know, I know, Woo-Hah, it IS a dirty trick. But we need more risk-taking pilots like that boy. And did you notice how easily that Poxner fellow could understand you almost instantly? No offense, but as pleasant as it is to have someone my age around, I'm getting too busy to work directly with you, sans interpreter.
"BRRROCCK-POP... GRRRRRAWSZZ."
"Poxner's going to be really useful in that department, too. Not to mention his designs are highly original; we need more of that kind of thinking around here. You've seen his scrolls. You wouldn't have taken that scroll if you didn't like it."
"DRRWWOOWOWOWW-VOPP."
"Glad you agree, Engineer. Tell you what: you can have this office as a second workshop, but only if you work with Poxner and train him up. Deal?"
"FREEUWEE..."
"Come on. I can tell you like the way he thinks, or else you wouldn't have taken one of his scrolls. He's a little rough around the edges, but that's to be expected of anyone from the rural areas."
"ROOO...?"
"Ancient City. That road only leads to and from that backwater town. I spent some time there myself, many years ago."
"LIBBIP. TOO-TOO."
"Remind me to go up there soon, I need to see exactly what those boys did to the church. If FluffNest is still the head pastor up there, he may still owe me a favor."
"BAWPBAWP. PBBBBTT!!"
"Did you say Bonko? How did you know about Bonko? Oh well, you must have gone up there at one point or another. He's kind of hard to forget, isn't he? Well. More like the smell. Nobody forgets the smell of that cart. It's practically a cultural institution there. Priceless in its own right."
"HAIKAMAIKA-GAAAHH!?"
"How should I know how long it takes to pay off antique furniture? No idea. Long enough for you to train another senior ship-engineer? Or my newest pilot?"
"ALAPALA-LAWANIIIII-HEE!"
"No, I don't feel bad about the desk. Just cheap pinelarch and pressed ply. Palaika wood doesn't quickly catch fire, not in any small gas explosion-- you should know that."
"WULLAH. TEEK-TEEK-TEEK!"
"Another dirty trick, I admit. But we need all the personnel we can find, and there is something about those two. The last two applicants, we lost to a wagon-testing factory, if you can believe that. I like them, and you like them, sometimes that's all you need to know. That, and they're definitely trainable, maybe even already ahead of their class. "
"POPPOP. BILLEEK. GOOROOO-HOO."
"Glad you think that way. You know, this might be the start of a beautiful crew-staffing."
"G'ROOO."
"Now come on. This planet doesn't have a lot of time left. And these spaceships are not going to build themselves."
*****THE END*****
About the author:
Jon Torres is the author of "CHICKENS: A Space Adventure" which is available on Amazon.
In addition to launching poor chickens into space, he also enjoys reading science fiction (surprise), jogging and occasionally writing computer code. He lives in Southern California.
He is can also be found on facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/jontorresauthor