Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maru couldn’t help but sigh…compared with every other vehicle on base, Blade’s Quals Sheet was abysmal. While the mechanic had kind of expected that he would be lacking, his friend had just barely gotten certified, after all, he also hadn’t expected him to be so far behind fellow aircraft. I mean Blade’s Qual Sheet barely took up two pages…Cabbie’s, well Cabbie’s Qual Sheet was closer to forty. And Blade was probably never going to catch up with the C-119, Maru knew that if the helicopter was going to survive in the world of firefighting, he was going to have to step up his game fast.

Spreading out the Qual Sheets for the four aircraft on base, Maru tried to find some qualifications that he thought he might be able to assist Blade in getting. It was slow going. Some of the quals were clearly fix wing aircraft specific. Others were job-specific. But as he dug deeper, he discovered a handful of qualifications that appeared in every Qual’s sheet but Blade’s. After complying a list, Maru took the first task on the list and headed out into the evening to ask what it would take to get Blade this qualification.

“So, what is going to take to get Blade his All-Weather rating?” Maru placed the helicopter’s qual sheet on the table.

“Maru, we are eating dinner.” The base’s Chief replied pointedly.

“Which makes it a perfect time to pin all of you down for a straight answer.” Maru refused to drop the subject.

“Fine.” The tired-looking Rockwell Commander turned to the oldest and most experienced aircraft on the team. “Cabbie, it’s your turn to explain.”

The C-119 grumbled, before pushing his bowl away and leveling an annoyed look at Maru. “You want the straight answer?”

“Of course.” Maru grinned up at the plane, finally feeling as though he was making progress.

“I highly doubt that Blade will ever get that particular qualification. No offense to you kid.” Cabbie leveled a kind look at Blade, who currently looked as though he wanted to melt through the main hanger’s floor. “But you simply don’t have the amplitude for it.”

“Really?” The mechanic pushed.

“Really.” Cabbie replied before trying to turn his attention back to his soup.

“But, everyone else here has managed to get it.” The tug didn’t try to hide the pout developing in his voice.

“And all the other aircraft on base are instrument rated.” The old plane didn’t even try to hide his eye roll. “And holding an instrument rating is required to be able to gain an all-weather rating.”

“Oh…” Maru let his voice trail off, the mechanic chewed on his lip for a moment and Cabbie took advantage of the pause in the conversation to gulp down a couple of mouthfuls of his dinner. “Okay, Blade is going to struggle to get the instrument parts of an all-weather rating, but there must be some part of the skills that he can get passed off on…I mean he flies in rain just fine as long as he has line of sight.”

“Night.” The base Chief let the word hang in the air.

“What?”

“One of the most critical weather conditions that an all-weather aircraft can navigate is night. They need to be able to comfortably fly missions in the dead of night.” The Rockwell Commander was clearly trying to be patient with his subordinate. “Blade, like most helicopters, struggle with nighttime navigation. It is not something to be ashamed of, it is simply one of the challenges of rotary-wing flight.”

“So, if he could…”

“We will continue this conversation after dinner.” Cabbie finally put a tire down.

“But…” Maru tried to protest.

“After dinner.” The old warplane glared down at the mechanic and Maru finally relented, knowing that there were some battles that he was simply never going to win…but also recognizing that had been given permission to ask questions to his heart’s content after the bellies on base were comfortably full. With that tidbit of knowledge, Maru couldn’t help smiling a bit as he tucked into his own bowl of soup.

Term – All-Weather – An aviation term that dates back to WWII when many military aircraft lacked radar and other systems to allow them to fly in clouds, during precipitation events, or low light conditions (aka night.) Currently, the term All-Weather is still used when discussing the types of missions emergency services teams can fly and combines the capabilities of the aircraft and the training of the pilot. As a rule of thumb, All-Weather rated aerial firefighting aircraft are rare and often manned by form military pilots.

Chapter Text

Windlifter had always taken pride in the act that he was a late bloomer. There was no reason to rush through life when there were so many interesting things to explore along the way. Most of his teachers had learned to overlook the quiet helicopter’s sometimes convoluted way of getting things done once they were able to determine that he was perfectly capable of getting the correct answer…eventually. Unfortunately for the young Skycrane, there was one part of his education that everyone in his life was currently breathing his intakes to get him to complete. That of course was the process of fledging.

So far Windlifter had successfully delayed his fledging as much as he could manage. But eventually he ran out of both excuses and time to make them. Which is how he ended up sitting on the tarmac at the local flight school sitting in front of a particularly grumpy-looking flight instructor.

“Okay Windlifter.” The Robinson glared at the younger helicopter with a look of sheer annoyance. “I know you have a reputation for being a pain in the other teacher’s tail boom, but I am going to be straight with you. You have 10 hours of flight time to pass off all of the flight skills you need to solo. If you take longer than that, the fault will solidly be at your tires, and you will have to bear the cost of that.” The Robison quirked an eyebrow. “Understood.”

“Understood.” Windlifter replied without batting an eye.

“Good.” The flight instructor settled on his tires. “Now, let’s see if we can give you a new perspective on the world.”

That last statement struck a chord deep in Windlifter and it awakened a restless reservoir of curiosity. Perhaps the world could be just as interesting from the air as it was from the ground. The only way he was going to find out was to try. So, for the first time, Windlifter took a deep breath, kicked his engines to full power, and broke the surly bonds of earth…

Term – Block Time – This term refers to whenever an aircraft is (or should be) moving under its own power. Block Time is primarily used in two settings. The first is commercial aviation because it allows airlines to schedule and sell tickets for flights. The second is at aviation schools where students are often given a set number of blocks to learn how to do a particular flight skill. If a student is unable to learn that skill in the time allotted they usually have to pay for additional time in the aircraft to pass off that task.

Chapter Text

There were aspects of firefighting that Chief Blade Ranger knew that ground wildfire personal would never understand. On a bad burn, the helicopter would hear the dozers and wildland rigs complain about the frame-breaking work. As hard as their work was, Blade knew that the physical strain that a tanker underwent during a drop pushed those aircraft to their limits. Most of the time experience and physical stamina would see an aircraft through…but the moments that those failed the results were disastrous.

A single miss calculation about the wind or a change of wind could easily translate into having your parts scatter unceremoniously across the rocks. A single lap of judgment could turn you into a burning pyre. A single hairline fracture could cause your wings to be ripped from your frame during a drop. There were just so many things that could go wrong, and such a high cost when they did.

It was the knowledge that both he and his team had chosen a career where a single error could land them a place on the wall, that proved to be the driving force for Blade’s existence. He pushed himself hard, practicing maneuvers with different loads and different winds. He practiced, and he took notes which he used to help those who served under him push their limits but not cross them. Then, he drilled that knowledge into their muscle memory with a level of tenacity and precision that only someone who had looked death in the face and survived would ever attempt.

“Try it again, Champ.”

Blade had seen what happened when an aircraft misjudged the change in their center of gravity when they made a drop in the past. And that is why he was so determined to make sure that the people who worked under him were given plenty of opportunities to learn the limits of their hulls under safe conditions and his watchful eyes. They may grumble, like the green as river birch plane in front of him, but Blade knew that when slag really hit the fan, every vehicle he trained would eventually appreciate all the practice they had put in.

Term – Center of Gravity – The center of gravity refers to the location in an object where the amount of mass is the same in all directions. It is important for helicopter and aircraft pilots to understand where the center of gravity for their aircraft is because that is the point where that aircraft pivots in space. The rapid change in an aircraft’s center of gravity after they drop their load is one of the factors that makes arial firefighting one of the most dangerous types of flying. It takes a lot of practice and instinct for pilots to learn how their aircraft’s behavior shifts as before, during, and after a retardant drop.

Chapter Text

Piston Peak’s National Park might only be 270 or so miles from LA, but it was a world away from what Blade was used to. Blade had grown used to being the center of attention…well not as much of a center of attention as Nick, but he still had a buzz of staff around him making sure he had everything needed to perform. Here, Blade felt like he was almost an afterthought. Most of the time Maru was up to his tines in work while Blade was in a holding pattern. And outside of the time, he spent training, the fact he was an afterthought meant that he was the helicopter was spending a painfully large amount of time alone.

Blade had done his best to try to soothe his loneliness by trying to make friends with the rest of the crew, but his efforts only got him so far. The other aircraft were kind. The Chief always made sure that Blade had someone to eat with during meals and Cabbie would occasionally invite Blade to join him for a game of chess in the evenings. But the rest of the aircraft were all planes, and they really didn’t understand the social needs of a helicopter.

Blade had also tried making friendships among the various ground crew at the park. The rangers, for the most part, were willing to have a conversation with him when they had a free moment, but they always kept a professional distance. The dispatchers occasionally would slip him a piece of gossip during their brief exchanges, but never often enough to actually develop a friendship. The slagging truth was Blade hadn’t interacted with any of the dispatchers enough to properly learn their names yet. Then there was the fact that Blade was pretty sure that the smokejumpers were actively trying to avoid him.

It was all starting to get too much for the helicopter. He was lonely, he was isolated, and he was starting to feel like he might have chosen the wrong career choice. So, he went to the only vehicle he knew he could properly vent to.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” Blade admitted to Maru on a rare evening when he successfully pried the mechanic away from his work. “I am terrible at my job. I don’t fit in. Slagging hell, I haven’t even managed to make any friends.”

“And what am I? Chopped liver?” Maru snorted back which got him a glare from Blade.

“You know what I mean.” Blade spat.

“Do I? Do I really?” Maru pushed back sarcastically. “Because from my perspective it really looks like you are doing your slagging best not to become part of the team.”

“I…” Blade snarled but Maru placed a forceful tine across his lips stopping his argument in his tracks.

“Blade, have you paused to consider that this might have nothing to do with you?”

“What?” The helicopter stammered shocked by the abrupt change in direction that the conversation had just made. “Maru, you are making no sense.”

The mechanic sighed as he gave an exaggerated eye roll. “Blade, sometimes your ability to miss the obvious never ceases to amaze me.”

That particular comment stung deep in Blade’s engine in a way he hadn’t expected…because the last time Maru had said that it had been when Blade had quietly confessed to Maru that he had feelings for Nick. Instantly the helicopter wanted to open his mouth and give Maru a tongue lashing for saying something so cruel. But then he took a good look at the tired, sad expression on Maru’s face and paused. He had missed something important…and if he was going to fix things, he was going to need to figure out what that was.

“I…I don’t understand.” Blade finally asked, settling heavily on his tires. He looked the mechanic straight in the eyes. “Maru, what am I missing.”

The little tug sighed, placed his mug aside, and then met the helicopter’s gaze. “Blade, you have been so focused on your own pain, that you haven’t been open to seeing anyone else’s.”

“I…”

“Blade, why did Piston Peak have a position for a helicopter open up mid-season?”

“Because they had a helicopter go down.” Blade laid down the fact without any hesitation.

“And…” Maru pushed, and when the helicopter clearly didn’t take the hint, he swore as he scrubbed his tine across his face. “Chrysler, Blade. They watched their friend die. They watched someone they cared about have a dynamic rollover crash that resulted in them going off a cliff…and then they had to respond to the crash because they were the closest firefighters.” Maru squeezed his eyes shut to prevent tears from forming in them. “Blade, you had the luxury of being a bystander…imagine just how much harder it would be to respond to a fatal crash of a friend when you are the first responder.”

“Oh.” The word that slipped past Blade’s lips was little more than a whisper. The guilt of what he had done was forming a weight that was settling deep in his engine. He closed his eyes against the pain, now knowing why so many of the base’s members were so skittish…why so many had tried to keep him at a distance.

He thought about how raw his soul had been just after Nick went down…how long it had taken him to be partially functional. It had taken weeks if not months. The members of the Piston Peak’s Air Attack Base had been given days to try to process the pain of losing one of their own to the Wall before an upstart helicopter and be dropped in their laps. Honestly, now that things had snapped into perspective, Blade was shocked that Cabbie and the Chief had been civil to him. The helicopter had done nothing to deserve their kindness and they must be hurting just as bad as the other members of base.

“Maru…” Blade tried to speak past the guilt and pain that was trying to squeeze his throat shut. “Maru, what do I do?”

“You listen…” Maru paused to pick up his mug and take a long draw of the now cold coffee. “And you speak. While it’s impossible for you to fully understand their pain, just as it is impossible for them to understand how Nick’s death shook you to the bottom of your soul, both of you understand death and loss. All of us are grieving.”

Maru didn’t say another word as he rolled out of the dingy hangar that Blade currently called home. He left Blade alone to process his thoughts at his own speed on his own time schedule. The helicopter wrestled with his emotions and personal demons long into the night. Only when the first glimmers of dawn began to dye the morning sky pink did Blade finally come to a decision.

The drive to the main hangar for breakfast was one of the longest ones that Blade had ever made. Rolling along the familiar tarmac he had to keep his focus forward so that he didn’t reverse and head right back to the safety of his hangar. He knew that he had been running from this conversation for far too long, but that didn’t make broaching the topic any easier.

Most of the team had already gotten their food and were chowing down on the meal when Blade arrived. He carefully got a tray of his own and placed it in the spot between Cabbie and the Chief. Once his food was safely stowed on the table, Blade took a deep breath and asked the first question. “Cabbie, can you tell me a little bit about the helicopter I replaced?”

The silence that instantly engulfed the hangar was so thick it could have been cut by a knife. For a few moments Blade thought he was going to be crushed under the eyes of the vehicles he worked with. Then Cabbie spoke. “Why do you ask?”

“I…” Blade swallowed hard. While Cabbie’s words were innocent enough, Blade could clearly hear the hint of danger on the edge of his voice. “He was an important member of the team…and in many ways, he is still an important member of the team that I will never be able to replace and I just…I just wanted to understand him and my team better.”

“And why are you asking now?” Cabbie’s eyes stared straight into Blade’s as though he was daring the helicopter to look away.

Blade closed his eyes for a moment, then he leveled his gaze to match Cabbie’s. “I don’t know what have seen or read in the tabloids, but I am pretty sure most of you know why I am here.” Grief threatened to close Blade’s throat, but he swallowed hard. “I watch my best friend, my partner, my other half go down. I watched him hit the ground and explode in flames. Maru tells me he died on impact, but in many ways, that doesn’t matter. I watch Nick’s death and I was utterly powerless to do anything.” Blade felt the prick of tears forming in the corner of his eyes, so he took a moment to close them a breath. “Since then, so many vehicles have fixated on Nick’s death, that they forgot he was a person. They have forgotten his smile, his laugh, everything that made him, him.” Blade cast his eyes across the entire team. “So, I want to get to know your friend, not as the helicopter I replaced or a picture on the wall. I want to know him as a person…will you help me do that?”

There was another painfully long silence, and then Cabbie let out a huff. He leveled a look at the Chief then a moment later he turned his full attention to Blade. “Hugh…Hugh enjoyed painting in his spare time. He especially enjoyed landscapes, but he would paint anything that would sit still long enough for him to capture an image.”

“God, forbid you fall asleep on the tarmac.” The Chief took up the next piece of the story. “One moment you would be dozing and the next thing you knew, you had a bright yellow helicopter peering intently at you, paintbrush in mouth.”

The stories kept pouring out from there. Soon there was laughter and there were tears memories were shared. That day passed quickly, and though none of the planned exercises were completed, something more important had happened. Blade slowly became part of the team. He didn’t earn everyone’s trust all at once and it took some time before he could consider any vehicle other than Maru a friend, but Blade was no longer a vehicle that needed to be pushed to the side because he was now part of the fabric of the Piston Peaks Air Attack Base. Just like every other firefighter that had come before him and every firefighter that would follow.

Term – Dynamic Rollover – This phenomenon is one of the most dangerous incidences that can happen to a helicopter on the ground. A dynamic roller over occurs when a helicopter is near the ground during takeoff, landing, or loading. To occur, one of the landing touches or gets stuck on the ground causing the aircraft to pivot and rotate around the landing gear. The main rotor thrust then becomes unbalanced causing the vehicle's banking angle to increase. Once the banking angle has exceeded the helicopter’s center of gravity, the helicopter tips causing its spinning rotors to hit the ground causing catastrophic engine failure. This type of accident can happen in both wheeled and skid helicopters.

Chapter Text

It was officially Blade’s least favorite time of year. While he knew the importance of getting an accurate number, every time Maru informed him that he needed to get that year’s Empty Weight, Blade couldn’t help but cringe. Earlier in his career, Blade had even tried to convince Maru to let him weigh in every three years like he had done when he had been an actor…or maybe just fudge the numbers because he was old enough that his weights didn’t change that much from year to year. Maru had given him a lecture when he had given the first suggestion and a proper cold shoulder when he had suggested the second…which if Blade was honest to himself, he completely deserved. But that didn’t make the process of completely clearing the tanks any easier.

“At least you have an easier time than Cabbie.” Maru had remarked has had Blade chug another bottle of the nasty tasting liquid used to help him purge fuel from his system. Which while technically true, didn’t the liquid go down any smoother.

“At least he gets to be sedated for his procedure.” Blade glared back at the sadistic mechanic who was prepping another bucket.

Maru simply pursed his lips in amusement. “Well, if you really wanted to have your true empty weight measured, I am sure we could schedule to have the procedure done at the local hospital.”

“You know what I mean.” Blade gave Maru his iciest glare, which unfortunately the mechanic had long grown immune to. His tanks churned uncomfortable and before he got the chance to say anything else Blade was puking mouthfuls of oil and fuel into the provided bucket. As the helicopter heaved Maru quietly patted the Blade’s side…which only made the aircraft even more frustrated with his situation.

Eventually, the vomiting shifted to dry heaves and the dry heaves transitioned the heavy, panting breaths. Exhausted, Blade shifted to the side, pressing his weight against Maru. Maru for his part didn’t complain. He simply reached up a tine and patted Blade on the nose.

“Why don’t you get a nap?” Maru asked as he rubbed soothing circles across Blade’s skin. “It will help pass the time and you will feel better for it.”

“Fine.” Blade mummed, his eyes already starting to get droopy. It was clear that the helicopter’s body was telling him to rest, but his brain still had questions. “How many more times do I have to do this?”

Maru looked at his friend with a sad smile. “You have two more doses before we can do a weigh-out. But if we are lucky, we should have your Basic Empty Weight calculated by 11 am so that you can have a proper lunch.”

“Good.” Blade murmured as his eyes started to slip shut. “Cabbie better be getting us takeout for that.”

“I am sure he will.” Maru said as he continued his gentle pats, doing his best to soothe his friend to sleep. “Is there anything, in particular, you want the old bird to pick us up?”

Blade’s only reply was the hum of a long, rumbling snore.

Term – Empty Weight – This term has slightly different meanings depending on which certifying body/definition is being used. For aircraft, it usually boils down to five definitions. The first is the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) standard which defines Standard Empty Weight as the weight of an empty aircraft plus any unusual fuel in the fuel tank/lines and the required amount of engine oil and hydraulic fluid. The GAMA also defines a Basic Empty Weight as the Standard Empty Weight plus any optional equipment that the aircraft may have.

There is also three Non-GAMA Weight Definitions. In these, Empty Weight is defined as the weight of an empty aircraft, any undrainable fuel oil, and the full amount of hydraulic fluid. Standard Empty weight = Empty Weight + Unusable Fuel. And the Licensed Empty Weight = Standard Empty Weight + a Full Amount of Engine Oil + Any Optional Equipment.

So…why does this matter? You need to know the empty weight to do all of your weight balance calculations which is especially critical for aircraft flying on the edge like the Piston Peak Air Attack members. All of the aircraft on base will be using the GAMA calculations, with the exception of Cabbie who will use the Non-GAMA calculations for his weigh balances.

Chapter Text

So…this is how I die?

Nick Loop’n Lopez had done hundreds, if not thousands of these low-level loops. He was famous for them. They were his signature move and he knew just how good they looked on screen…but that was dwarfed by the sheer and utter joy he felt as his skids turned to scrape the sky. Now that joy was gone, replaced by a feeling that Nick couldn’t really identify.

So…this is how I die!

The loops had started nearly as soon as he was fledged. While those around him had constantly chastised him for taking stupid chances. He had laughed in their faces. They had said that flying on the edge like this would be the death of him…and he had told them that it would be worth it.

Nick did his best to live life on the edge, to make the most of every moment, and that philosophy had given him so much. It had given him a job…a career that he loved…which of course had given him Blade who he loved even more. He had lived a life of his own choosing, but there was so much to do…so much more that he wanted to accomplish…but it looked as though his hourglass of life had just run out.

So…this is how I die.

In the movies, this would be the moment where Nick’s life would flash before his eyes. But this wasn’t the movies, and he wasn’t the type of helicopter to dwell on the past. Instead, he focused on the moment. He let time slow down ever so slightly as he felt the feedback from his straining engine vibrate through every fiber of his being.

Part of him was still praying for a miracle, still fighting with every ounce of his strength to survive…but part acknowledged the fact that everyone's luck runs out eventually. He spared a momentary thought for Blade…knowing full well that his partner was probably watching this unfold. Nick wished he had time to tell him goodbye…to tell him that he was sorry…but the ground was coming up too fast…gravity reaching out to snatch him from the sky and there was nothing his screaming engines could do save him. Nick locked eyes on the piece of boring black tarmac that was about to take his life.

So…this is how I…

Blade hadn’t been directly looking at Nick the moment that things went wrong. He had instead been pouring over his script, preparing for his next scene. But something had caught his attention, a flicker of movement that was all wrong had forced him to look up just in time to see Nick just moments before he plunged into the ground.

The flames that had blossomed at the crash site had contained a horror that Blade had not witnessed before and would never witness again. Every fiber of Blade’s being had wanted to rush to Nick at that moment…to save and protect him…but he had been pushed back for all the incredibly practical reasons.

Only after the embers had been drowned and the police had cordoned off the crash site, did one of the first responders come and check up on Blade. Maru came and patted the helicopter’s side with tines streaked with ash and grime. Part of the set mechanic’s paint was blistered by the heat of Nick’s funeral pyre, but the little vehicle was clearly too exhausted and hollow-eyed to acknowledge his own pain at the moment. So, Maru turned the last of his reserves to try to comfort the vehicle left behind.

“I am so sorry, Blade.” Maru’s face was a frozen mask of grief. “I am so sorry…but at least we can find some comfort in the fact it looks like he died instantly on impact.”

Term – Feedback – Feedback is the vibration that you feel in the steering apparatus when an engine is pushed to or beyond its limits. It is most likely to occur when there is damage to the engine, but it can occur during rough operational conditions or if the engine/other vehicle systems are redlined.

Chapter Text

Windlifter stifled a yawn as he settled in front of the computer for the day’s work. To be honest, it wasn’t nearly as fun teaching his class online as it was in person…but Windlifter had learned long ago that it was important to be like water, ever moving, ever adaptable. So, when the pandemic had hit, he had turned a corner of his family’s hangar into his virtual classroom. Well, if he was going to be completely truthful, Tulxata and his two children had created his classroom for him, because his wife had taste and his children knew which cables went where which had left Windlifter with the very important task of ordering take out.

Anyway, teaching online lacked so many of the types of feedback that he loved getting from his students. No matter how hard he stared at the little squares on the screen he couldn’t really see the details of their body language and he couldn’t hear the little sighs or expressive noises when they constantly stayed on mute. Windlifter had done his best to find joy in the little moments with his family, but he couldn’t help but feel incredibly trapped. With his isolation rapidly deepening, Windlifter turned his attention to a source of relief that he knew he could rely on…the constant search for knowledge.

So Windlifter ended up scrolling through the University catalog and selecting a half dozen classes to audit. Some were selected because he found the subject intriguing…others, because the subject somewhat scared him. The Introduction to Physics for Nonmajors was solidly in the latter camp, but he felt it was important for him to learn more about how the world worked even if the math behind it made his brain hurt.

Now three times a week, first thing in the morning, Windlifter would log on to his computer and listen to one of his fellow professors explain the equations behind gravity, motion, and energy. He usually lasted about 15 minutes before his focus started to waver. He would get distracted by a single word and start daydreaming about a poem or musing on a short story. But then, when Windlifter’s mind was about to fully wander away from the class in front of him, he would feel soft breath on his ear.

“Good morning, my breeze.” Tulxata whispered to him as she nudged a tall mug of freshly brewed coffee in his direction.

“Good morning, my everything.” Windlifter whispered back, glad that his camera was off, and the microphone was off as he bent it in to steal a kiss.

Neither helicopter needed to say anymore as they settled in, for their sides were pressed against each other. And for the rest of class Windlifter’s mind didn’t wander. It didn’t need to, for in that moment he had everything he could ever want…a warm cup of coffee and the opportunity to explore the mysteries of the universe with his wife.

Term – Gyroscopic Precession – This is a physics term that refers to how an object’s orientation changes its orientation in relationship with its rotational axis. There are two types of Gyroscopic Procession. The first is Torque-Free Gyroscopic Precession which explains how bodies like the planet earth wobble on its axis. The second is Torque-Induced Gyroscopic Precession which is the phenomenon seen in Helicopters. If not managed, Torque-Induced Gyroscopic Precession would cause the entire body of the helicopter to spin and wobble until it either crashed or was torn apart. This is why the tail boom and or other counter rotational systems are so critical in this type of aircraft.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, when the Base was quiet and the wind whistled softly through the pines, Maru would reflect on what his life was like in the past. He would remember the exhilaration of working in the movie industry and the thrill of the challenge when he was Piston Peak’s only mechanic. He reflected on the precious years that he had spent with Blade in retirement before the helicopter’s engine had seized.

Letting Blade go had been the most difficult act of Maru’s life. To sit there, simply holding him as his life slipped away…as he shuttered and took his last breath. Every fiber of Maru’s being as screamed for him to ignore Blade’s final wish and to fight, but the mechanic had swallowed his pride and stayed in the moment, letting his best friend know that he was not alone…that he was loved, right up to the end.

It was only after Blade’s eyes had closed for the last time and his body was cold and forever still that Maru had called police nonemergency number to call for a coroner. The next days had been a lonely whirlwind arranging for Blade’s cremation…his funeral service…his burial. He ended up burying Blade in LA in the plot right next to Nick’s. It had felt right to leave him there, and based photos he had seen on Bumperbook, his grave had been fully adopted by the Lopez family who decorated and cared for it at every holiday. Maru was incredibly grateful for that, because he hadn’t been back since the day that Blade’s headstone had been placed…he just didn’t have the mental strength to make the trip.

With his tether to Blade permanently severed, Maru had gravitated back to the place where he had felt most at home. He successfully got a job as one of the mechanics at the Piston Peak Air Attack Base. It felt weird to be part of a team and share tools again, but Maru had eventually grown into the position. He found joy in watching as different firefighters flowed in and out of his life.

There had been some constants…he was now working with the third generation of Windlifters…and as well as some surprises. They had lost some more good people over the years including their first smokejumper, for whom they had bent the rules of burial in National Parks just a bit and let him rest forever under the protective watch of Cabbie’s fire tower.

Through it all, Maru had done his best to live a life worthy of paying tribute to those on the wall…but not everything he cared about wasn’t in that simple memorial. Blade hadn’t died in the service, so his picture was nowhere to be found, and Nick’s photo had been removed long ago to make room for those who had received their Last Call while serving at Piston Peak. Because of this, Maru had another place on base to remember those of his family, both by steel and by choice, who had gone before him.

“Well Blade.” Maru said one of the photos he kept on a special shelf on the corner of his personal room. “I was thinking about you today.” Maru placed a mug of coffee in front of the photo…as well as a package of powder donuts for the photo sitting next to it, because it wouldn’t do for Nick to get jealous. “I hope that wherever you are, you are happy.”

Maru lit a small amount of incense and muttered a prayer under his breath. He didn’t really believe in an afterlife, but he believed in the importance of ritual. Once the moment of reflection was over, the tug let himself return to the rhythm of his day. Rolling back out into the sunshine, Maru smiled. He didn’t know where he would wander from here, but if living with helicopters had taught him nothing else it was that when you learned to love something it was also important to learn let it fly free.

Term – Helicopter – A type of rotor aircraft gains its lift and thrust from at least one large, horizontal rotors. While models were constructed earlier, the commercially viable helicopter came to market in 1942, just in time to help with search and rescue missions during WWII. Helicopters are far slower than most types of aircraft but are highly valued for their ability to take off/land vertically, as well as the ability to hover. These flight characteristics make helicopters excellent tools for search and rescue, air med, movie production, and hoist operations.

Chapter Text

The world around him was familiar, but out of focus…so out of focus. He blinked, but it only seemed to make things fuzzier. His brain felt like it was wrapped in cotton gauze and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep.

“Oh no you don’t.”

The voice was gruff, but not unkind. He thought that he probably should have been able to place who it was coming from, but his brain didn’t want to click into gear. It just wanted to shut down.

“Blade. Blade look at me.”

He blinked, had there was a face looking down at him. He knew that he should have been able to place a name to that face, but any of his thoughts seemed to be caught in molasses. He tried to reach out to them, but they kept on slipping beyond his reach.

“Maru, you better get that heat up and running ASAP because the Chief engine just dropped out of idle!”

His engine…yes, his engine was quiet. He was pretty sure that it wasn’t supposed to be quiet like that, but he had forgotten what he was supposed to do to keep it going. He had forgotten anything that wasn’t the current moment.

“I am doing my slagging best. Just keep him awake as best you can!”

These words were said by another voice. One that spoke to his soul. It made him want to obey the words, but he was just too cold and tired.

“Winco!”

The vehicle in front of him shifted to be sitting right in front of him, but even in these close quarters, the gigantic aircraft was little more than a shadow.

“Blade…Damn it, Blade keep your eyes open.”

He wanted to listen to the order. He really did, but he was just so cold…just so tired. His heavy eyelids slid closed and there was nothing that the shouting plane could do to convince him to pry them open as sleep sucked him into blackness.

When Blade bubbled back up to consciousness the first thing felt was the comfortable warmth that surrounded him. There was the smell of wood smoke and the comforting crackle of a fire. The combination made him feel safe, and it made him want to slip back into the cocoon of sleep. And he honestly would have, it wasn’t for the uncomfortable pressure that told him it was time to hit the latrine.

After fighting his oil pan for a few more long minutes Blade finally sighed heavily and forced his heavy eyes open…only to find Maru parked at his nose

“Well, hello there.” The mechanic smirked up at him. “I am glad you decided to finally join us.”

Blade had so many questions, but he focused on the most pressing issue and croaked, “Latrine.”

“Ah.” Maru gave a knowing smile. “Let me go fetch a bucket.”

The helicopter desperately wanted to protest, but he was too slagging tired to argue so he allowed Maru to help with the necessary. With his oil pan empty, Blade could feel himself getting dragged back into sleep. His eyes grew heavy and he almost managed to slip back into dreams when Maru have him a sharp whack a crossed the nose.

“Eat first, then you can sleep.”

Once again Blade wanted to protest, but Cabbie brought over a tall mug of soup and Blade tanks gave out a long rumble of hunger. The helicopter realized just how starving he was, and he practically inhaled the meal. Only once the mug was licked clean did he look at his companions.

“What happened?” He asked trying to make sense of the jumble of memories.

“Hypothermia.” Cabbie replied flatly as he moved to refill the mug.

“It was rather touch and go there for a while.” Maru added as he sipped from his own bowl of soup. “But we were luckily able to get your engine block warmed up before all of the oil in it tried to turn to jello.”

“Ah.” Blade replied, still struggling to organize his thoughts. But that didn’t matter. There was another mug of soup in front of him and even though it had come from a can, the salty broth still tasted amazing. As his tank filled with the comfortingly warm liquid, Blade could feel his eyes trying to once again slide closed.

“Go to sleep Blade.” Maru smiled as he gave helicopter a soft pat on the side of his nose. “We will be here when you wake up next.”

This time Blade simply yawned in reply and went back to sleep.

Term – Idle – Idle refers to an engine that is running when a vehicle is not in motion. During idle, there is no load on the engine except for any accessories such as AC or the radio. While idling can produce pollution and is discouraged in areas where a vehicle is parked, it does allow a vehicle to rapidly transition into motion which is why cars idle at red lights. Idling can also be a useful tool to keep an engine warm and functioning in extreme weather/elevation conditions, which is why pilots will often keep aircraft engines at least at an idling during polar or high mountain winter rescue missions.

Chapter Text

Chief Blade Ranger had been fairly convinced that his day couldn’t get any worse. Cad had after all just cut their budget again, which meant that they were probably going to have to reduce the number of aircraft they had on the team the following year. Yes, he thought his day couldn’t get any worse…but then the winter windstorm that was roaring its way up the canyon, and before anyone could stop it, the base’s tower came crashing to the ground.

“Well, that was rather exciting.” Cabbie stated flatly as he poked his nose out into the storm to observe the damage. Blade just looked at the old plane and let out a long string of curses that he could never get away with saying when the smokejumpers were on base. Finally once Maru had determined that they had all stared out into the fowl weather long enough he gave the Chief a pat on the side.

“Well.” The mechanic shrugged. “There is nothing we can do until the storm blows over. We might as well finish eating dinner and get some sleep because I suspect we are going to want to be well-rested tomorrow.”

Blade at first had tried to protest, but dinner was getting cold, and Cabbie offered to shelter him under his wing until he fell asleep and the helicopter wasn’t going to say no to the familiar comfort. It took longer than the helicopter wanted to admit to finally drift off, but finally, the gentle warmth of the fire and comforting presence of those he trusted lulled him to sleep.

The next morning Blade and the others woke up bright and early to inspect the damage. What greeted their eyes was an unholy mess. Anything that hadn’t been tied down had been tossed about by the storm and the shredded remains of the old tower were scattered across the tarmac. Cabbie gave a low whistle as they ventured out while Maru made a beeline to the place the tower once stood.

“At least it happened in the winter months.” Maru said as he poked the pile of rubble. “I can’t imagine just how bad things would have been if the tower had gone down with Patch in it.”

He didn’t have to say that Patch wouldn’t have survived the collapse. All the equipment that had once been in the tower was now crushed beyond recognition and the vehicles had to carefully pick their way around the shards of broken glass and exposed rusted nails. Just looking at the mess caused the feeling of despair to build in Blade’s gas tank. They would need a new air traffic control tower by spring, but they simply didn’t have the funds to build it.

“Well, I guess we better get the tarmac cleared off.” Cabbie finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

“What?” Blade replied not fully tracking.

“We better get the tarmac cleared off. We need to clean up the debris and snow before I head out to get some supplies to rebuild the tower.” The old plane spoke slowly as though that would allow the information to penetrate the helicopter’s head.

“But we don’t have the budget to build a tower right now.”

Cabbie gave Maru a knowing look and sighed heavily. “Blade, how the slag do you think we managed to build the rest of this base?”

“…” The helicopter moved his mouth as though he wanted to say anything, but no words came out.

“We jury-rigged most of it.” Cabbie said with an eye roll when it became clear that the Chief wasn’t tracking. “In general, park employees don’t throw away anything that could possibly be repaired, upcycled, or recycled somewhere else in the park. Our budgets have always been too tight to not squeeze as much life out of any materials we manage to purchase.”

“Ah.” Blade finally started to put the pieces of the puzzle together in his head. “So, we have the materials mostly covered…but what about the labor? Who are we going to get to build this thing?”

Maru gave Blade a friendly pat on his side. “You are looking at the labor right here. Hopefully, you remember the skills you learned in your high school shop class because you are going to be utilizing them for the rest of the winter.”

Blade looked at his two fellow vehicles with an expression of panic, which caused Cabbie to burst into laughter. “Don’t worry, it will not be that bad…at least it won’t if we get this tarmac cleared so I can pick up the supplies Maru needs to start sketching out a plan.”

This time the Blade didn’t bother arguing, he simply resigned himself to the work required to get his base functional again.

Term – Jury-rig – To build or repair something in an unorthodox manor. In the US duct tape is a commonly used tool to complete jury-rigged repairs.

Chapter Text

Avalanche knew that the world looked different from the ground than it did from the sky. He knew this because he had gained a glimpse of this as he jumped from Cabbie’s hold and into the empty air. But even though he had experienced the joy of the wind cradling every inch of his chassis, he also understood that he would never fully understand what it was like to be an aircraft and have the freedom to fly under their own power.

Something deep inside the dozer told him that this lack of understanding went two ways. He would never understand what it was truly like to fly…but the aircraft he served with would never understand the concept of family like he did. Growing up in the mines he had constantly been surrounded by vehicles of his own steel, and even though he had become the black sheep of the family by setting out into the world to seek his fortune, he knew that his family expected him to return and settle down once his firefighting career was complete. Having family like that was incredibly grounding because he knew that no matter how stuck he might get, there was always someone out there…a parent, a cousin, a sibling, an aunt…that was willing to pull you out of the muck. The fact that the aircraft around him were often adrift, either by choice or by circumstances, made his engine ache, so Avalanche decided that he would do his best to make sure that the base was like family.

Cabbie became the uncle, partially because it seemed a little bit rude to call him grandpa, and partially because…well, they had kind of assumed he was gay. Discovering Cabbie’s history had been a bit of a shock. Discovering his kids and grandkids had been an even greater surprise. But by then, Cabbie was firmly their ‘uncle’ and no amount of protesting from the old plane was going to change the smokejumper’s minds.

Blade was the next vehicle to kind of snap in the place. The Chief was clearly ‘Dad’. He was a stern, somewhat standoffish father, but all of the jumpers knew that was partially a facade. They had all seen how the Chief worked to keep them all safe…how he practically hovered over them when they were injured, and they knew just how much the Chief cared.

Windlifter, Maru, and Patch all managed to become older cousins. Windlifter was the type that always got roped into babysitting you when you were younger, while Maru was the kind of cousin who would sneak you half a can of high grade while you were underage. Patch, on the other tine, was clearly the responsible cousin that always remembered to send you a card for your birthday…even if the contents of the card might be a little bit questionable.

That of course left the siblings. While Avalanche liked to think of himself as the older brother, Dynamite had totally left in the dust when it came to being the ‘oldest’ sibling. She was strong, beautiful, reliable, and utterly terrifying when she was mad. In contrast, Dipper and Drip were clearly the ‘babies’ of the family. Their endless curiosity required constant supervision and everyone on the team did their best to keep them safe. That left Avalanche, Blackout, and Pinecone, in the middle trying to do their best to find ways to gain attention from other members of the ‘family.’

Avalanche had mastered the art of being a middle child on base having fun alternating between being overly helpful and throwing wrenches into the works. The trick was reading the mood of the base and knowing what the rest of the family needed at the moment…For example, if Blade had just been handed another budget cut from Cad, it was time it was best to help cook an extra comforting meal. On the other tire, if Windlifter was handed the exact same set of budget cuts it was better to organize an impromptu movie night to help the helicopter procrastinate the paperwork.

Regardless of what the right action was at the moment, Avalanche would always do his best to be there. Because Piston Peaks was a family, even if not a single one of them were of the same steel.

Term – Kin – This word usually refers to blood relatives but can also be used to refer to any group that shares a strong affinity or relationship to each other.

Chapter Text

Blade shuttered as he felt his engine slowly began to grind to a stop.

The firefighting life was hard on any frame, but it broke some people more than others. Blade would be one of the vehicles it broke. Eventually, he reached the point when he had too many bad landings, too many burns, too many rotor strikes. His body started to show metal fatigue and he knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before he started developing microfractures. Knowing he was drawing close to the end of his operational life, the helicopter had chosen to retire on his own terms instead of being forced into medical retirement.

Blade had wanted to slip away from Piston Peaks National Park quietly, but neither Jammer nor Windlifter would allow that. They had thrown him a proper retirement party. It had been a good farewell to the place which had been his home for so many years and it had given him the courage to strike out on the next stage of his life alone…but the universe seemed to have a different plan in store for him.

To Blade’s surprise, Maru chose to follow him out of the service. At first, he had tried to convince tell his old friend that he didn’t need to sacrifice his career like that, but Maru had just shrugged as he shoulder his tools and asked if Blade had an apartment picked out. He of course did…a little hangar located in a small town high in the Colorado Rockies. One with big picture windows overlooking the forest and just enough local resources to be comfortable.

To say that the next four years were idyllic, would be an understatement. Blade wasn’t particularly wealthy…but he also wasn’t poor either, and the knowledge that he was living on borrowed time encouraged him to not hold back. He ate out when he wanted, went to performances the piqued his curiosity, and purchased fresh cut flowers just because. He lived like there was no tomorrow because he knew that his days were numbered.

The day of his last flight had come unexpectedly. He made a quick run down to the grocery store only to have to be driven back to his home on the back of a trailer. Maru had done his absolute best to try to cheer him up, but there was a piece inside of him that had shattered. His body had betrayed him, and he would never feel lift beneath his rotors or the feeling of flight in his tanks. His ability to fly was gone and with it, his will to fight the forces of entropy.

Once it became clear that his systems were beyond repair, Blade had requested a DNR notice be added to his medical file. The pain in Maru’s face had been immense, but the mechanic hadn’t argued with him as he arranged for a notary to visit their home perched on the edge of the forest. That night after the deed was done, Maru had poured himself a tall glass of high grade, pulled out a stack of papers, and made Blade answer the difficult questions about the end-of-life care he wanted. Blade regrated not telling his friend just how much comfort that conversation brought because even though they never spoke about it again, it was a comfort to know that Maru had made sure that Blade was in control of what was to come.

The decline happened far faster than anyone would have hoped, but in truth that wasn’t too unexpected. As the seasons turned from summer to fall, and the forest turned from green to brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges, Blade felt the color in his own life starting to fade away. Even though Maru did his best to always make sure that hangar was well stocked with things to eat, his appetite was gone, and the food tasted like ash on his tongue.

It was clear that Maru knew that the end was near because there was a steady stream of friends who came to say goodbye. There were people who he had known back in his Hollywood days and those with whom he had fought fires. There were vehicles from the town he grew up in and others who were his current neighbors. Blade both delighted in these visits and found them completely exhausting…but even these visits started to slow to a trickle as the weather slipped from autumn into the first hints of winter.

“It is okay, Blade.”

Today he had woken up, with his breath rattling in his intakes and he knew deep down that there wasn’t going to be a tomorrow.

“It’s okay. You can be with Nick now.”

At the word Nick, Blade felt a spark of warmth kindle deep within his frame. He still really didn’t want to go, but if Nick was on the other side of things then…well, there was nothing to be afraid of.

“It’s okay.”

He could feel his world dissolving away until the only thing that was left was the feeling Maru pressed against his side and the sound of his best friend’s words. Even as his consciousness faded, Blade couldn’t help but feel immense gratitude that he had been blessed to have a companion who was by his side to the end.

“You can let go now.”

Blade gave out one last shuttering breath, then he listened to Maru and allow himself completely to shut down.

After the autopsy the coroner classified Blade as a Line of Duty Death, which meant that even though was retired at the time of his passing he would be given every honor fitting a station chief. It was only right given the specter of pain that must have plagued Blade through the last years of his life. Reading and rereading the report had only made Maru wonder if he had done enough to keep his friend comfortable in his twilight days.

Taking a deep breath, Maru tried to push the dark thoughts out of his mind and focus on the moment in front of him. After all, Blade deserved a friend at his send-off.

The helicopter before him looked unnaturally peaceful, decked out in his full firefighting livery and black funeral bunting. The local volunteer firefighter station had gone out of their way to make sure that Blade had been treated as one of their own. But now only one ceremony was left.

The bell wrung out three times as the funeral attendant guided Blade’s mortal remains into the crematoria and locked the door in place. There was a moment of silence the director motioned Maru over to push the button that would begin the process. Maru rolled forward, but before he reached a tine forward, he closed his eyes and whispered one last goodbye. He swallowed hard, the gentle pushed the button and with that, Blade faced the flames for the last time.

Term – Last Call – When a firefighter dies, there are a number of honors that they can be given. One of these honors is called the Last Call or Last Alarm. For this ceremony, a bell (or some departments a siren) is rung in a pattern of three. The Last Call represents both the alert to fight a fire as well as the alert that a fire has been extinguished and is viewed as a reminder of the firefighter’s life of service.

Chapter Text

Cabbie had seen his fair share of aircraft plummet to their deaths. Some had been shot out of the sky, others hit solid core clouds, still others became falling rocks when their wings or tails simply fell off. The old plane had seen enough aircraft go down, so when he saw a flicker of unfamiliar movement in his peripheral vision, he instantly got a sinking feeling in his tanks. A moment late his suspicions were confirmed when Shasta called Mayday over the radio. He didn’t get a chance to say anything else.

From Cabbie’s vantage point it was clear that the bright yellow helicopter clearly knew that his systems were about to go critical and he was fighting to make it to the ground. He didn’t make it…Cabbie had to fight crying out as he watched as Shasta’s rotor became detached from the rest of his frame. The disc went flying out into the forest while the rest of Shasta…well the rest of him was no longer capable of lift.

As a rule of thumb, helicopters didn’t survive their crashes. This was especially true for an aircraft that experienced mast failure. If Shasta would have been a few feet above the ground, he might have had a chance, but plummeting from that far up Cabbie knew that his friend had just died on impact. At this point, all he could do was stand guard over his remains until the authorities were able to come and start their investigation.

“Cabbie. Do you have eyes on him?” The Chief asked as the little plane sped towards him. Cabbie banked, tightening his circle around the burning mangled wreckage.

“I have eyes on him.” Cabbie spoke with slow deliberation. “And…and we have another one for the wall.”

“Are you sure?” The Chief voice nearly caught in his throat.

“Yes…” Cabbie breathed in a voice just above a whisper. Only the howl of the wind replied as those on the other end of the radio each process their shock in their own way.

Cabbie had seen his share of aircraft plummet to their deaths…but that didn’t matter because each of those death cut through his soul as sharply as the first he had ever witnessed.

Term – Mast – A helicopter’s mast is the non-rotating structure that holds the aircraft’s rotor blades in place. The mast is the piece of the helicopter that undergoes the most stress and, as a result, needs extra inspection/maintenance to make sure that it doesn’t experience catastrophic failure.

Chapter Text

It had been a long night. The storm had been an intense one, but Maru had stayed over and had kept the potbelly stove in Blade’s hangar a glow all evening. The two vehicles spent the evening chatting and sipping coffee…well Blade had been sipping coffee and while pointedly ignoring that Maru kept on topping off his mug with high grade…until they eventually dozed off.

Now the light outside was brilliant hinting at the world now covered with a fresh coat of ice and snow. Yawning, Blade stretched and nudged Maru to wake him. Given the angle of the light streaming through the window, he suspected that Cabbie had already completed breakfast preparation and was waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive so that everyone could eat.

Neither vehicle spoke as they rolled off their sleeping mat and for the door. Neither needed to. The two vehicles had been friends long enough that they practically knew what the other person was thinking about. Blade reached the hangar door first. He paused, steeling himself for the rush of cold air he knew was about to hit him. Then moved to nose the door open...but the door didn’t budge.

Blade tried to nose the door open once again, only to find that the door refused to even move an inch. By this time, Maru had arrived at the door and the mechanic bent his tine to the task, only to discover that the door was stubbornly refusing to open. It was then that the tug let out a long string of swear words as he realized that that the storm must have frozen the door shut.

“Cabbie?” Blade finally called over the radio once he and Maru had tried to find an alternative way out his hangar, only to discover that every single door and window was sealed shut with ice.

“Ah, I was wondering when you two would finally wake.” The old plane replied with a level of chipperness that only proved to deepen the two trapped vehicles’ frustration.

“We are trapped.” Blade shot back.

“Not too surprising?” Cabbie replied, with slight pauses that seemed to indicate that the plane was happily eating breakfast while his colleagues were trapped only a few hundred feet away.

“Cabbie…” The Chief’s tone was dangerous, but Cabbie appeared to be immune to the icy tone, and the sound of the old plane’s laughter echoed across the radio waves. “This isn’t funny.”

“I agree with you on that.” Cabbie’s voice was filled with mirth. “But there is nothing we can do about it at the moment.”

“So, you are not going to coming to rescue us?” Maru snipped.

“Would love to.” The old plane replied. “But we happened to be hit by a couple of bands of freezing rain last night and my hangar doors are as frozen as yours is.” Cabbie paused as though to take a long sip of coffee. “Luckily it looks like the weather will be warming up this afternoon. So all we have to do is sit tight for a couple of hours and allow the ice to melt.”

It wasn’t an ideal solution to the problem, but it looked like it was their only option. Which meant that Blade and Maru resigned themselves for the long wait. Maru put on a pot of coffee, and it was only then that the two vehicles realized the true horror of their current predicament for while they had access to caffeine, Blade’s hangar was completely devoid of food.

Both Blade and Maru were adults. They were perfectly capable of skipping a couple of meals…in fact, both of them had forgotten to eat numerous meals because they had gotten distracted with work, but with the endless empty hours stretching out before them, the hunger bubbling up in their tanks proved to be utterly distracting.

They tried to read, they tried to play games, they tried to have a conversation, but regardless of what they tried, their brains always circled back to food. By the time the sun started to cast long evening shadows, Blade and Maru were creating menu after menu with each being more elaborate than past. They were kind of convinced that they were starting to go a little mad when there was the sound of crunching tires outside and Cabbie forced the hangar door open.

“So, who’s hungry for some chili?” The old bird asked.

Neither Blade nor Maru bothered to respond. They just shot out of the hangar and down the tarmac to the warmth of Cabbie’s hangar. Blade paused for a moment at the doorway and took in the smell of freshly baked rolls and warm spices. Maru simply pushed past him and started to pull out the bowls. The whole crew ate in silence until all three vehicle’s tanks were comfortably full before they relaxed enough to laugh at the day’s misadventure. That said, they had all learned their lessons, and next year, Blade, Cabbie, and Maru made sure that all their winter hangars were well stocked with emergency snacks.

Term – Nose – An aircraft (or watercraft or ultra-highspeed land vehicles) is a tapered structure on the front of the vehicle that helps it be more aerodynamic. The nose is usually conical in shape and is often filled with important equipment such as radar, sonar, temperature, and pressure gauges.

Chapter Text

The argument started in the main hangar, like most arguments of this ilk did. The smokejumpers had been watching some new anime and the next thing anyone knew there was in a heated shouting match about who on base was the ‘real’ one punch man. While this type of development probably would have been concerning for an outsider, for the men and women who called the Piston Peaks Air Attack Base home, this was simply a Tuesday.

“So…” Blade sipped on his coffee from the piece of tarmac he had relocated to when the noise level in the hangar had gotten uncomfortably loud. “Does anyone understand what they are currently arguing about?”

Cabbie simply shrugged his wings. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“They are arguing about which member of base is the most OP.” Windlifter grinned quietly into his own mug of coffee.

“Which means?” Blade pushed.

“Overpowered.” The Skycrane replied as though he was surprised that his fellow aircraft were not familiar with the cultural reference. “They are comparing us with the title character of an anime that they are currently watching. He is known for being so completely overpowered that he can easily take out any enemy with a single punch.”

“Windy.” The Chief looked at his lieutenant with a raised eyebrow. “How in the world do you know this?”

“I have been reading the manga that the series has been based on.” Windlifter blinked back. “It has been very enjoyable.”

“Oh really?” Blade muttered sarcastically.

“Yes.” The Skycrane replied clearly immune to the Chief’s sarcasm. “But being familiar with the source text, it is clear that the smokejumpers are ignoring the most important question to debate.”

“And what would that be?”

“Which character is the closest parallel to each member of the team.” Windlifter got a distant look in his eye. “Given the size and complexity of the cast, they could have a truly engaging literary debate which characters represented each individual and why.”

“I don’t know why I let myself get surprised by this type of thing anymore.” Cabbie mumbled into his coffee. Unfortunately for the old plane, his mutterings were not loud enough to derail Windlifter’s ramblings about a TV show that neither he nor Blade had any interest in actually watching. They were trapped by a helicopter in professor mode until they were finally rescued by Patch and the call to respond to a fire. To say that the aircraft were thrilled for the interruption would have been an understatement.

Term – Overpowered – Overpowered or OP refers to something or someone who has more power than they know what to do with. It is a popular trope in both anime and superhero comics. Things in real life can also be overpowered, with a great example of this being the lifting power of a Skycrane.

Chapter Text

“Wait…you used to be a cop?”

The look on Blade’s face was absolutely priceless as the information tried to sink in. Given the sheer amount of shock and incredulity painted across his expression, made it clear that the facts were doing a poor job of worming their way into his thick skull. I probably wasn’t helping things by smirking at him while blowing bubbles in my chocolate milk, but chocolate milk was more fun when you blew bubbles into it using a straw so I couldn’t help myself.

“Maru you’re lying to me.” The new helicopter on set glared at the mechanic assigned to get them prepped that afternoon’s stunts.

“I am not.” The little tug glared up at Blade. “Now hold still we’re working on a deadline.”

Blade took a moment to chew on his lip. Which really just showed how green he was. They had a moment of downtime in their filming schedule so he should be chewing food if he was chewing on anything. Eventually, the kid managed to spit out his thoughts. “Prove it.”

Maru gave the biggest sigh, looked to the heavens, then pointed an exasperated tine in my direction. “Take a good look at him.”

I of course had chosen this exact moment to try to sneak another donut off of the tray in front of me. It was just beyond comfortable reach, but that didn’t stop me from trying to use my tongue to snag one, or several, of the tasty little morsels. I will fully admit this wasn’t the most dignified position to be in, but we were in the make-up trailer, and no one isn’t supposed to look dignified when you are halfway through the primping process.

“I really am not seeing what you are.” Blade shot a glare in Maru’s direction, which clearly indicated that Blade had a death wish because you should never antagonize a vehicle who could mess with your engine. It just wasn’t a good idea.

Maru huffed and motioned with exasperation towards my tail. “Look at his tail number.”

“His tail…” Blade started only to trail off when he realized that one of these things wasn’t like the others.

“You see it now?” Maru grumbled as he started to pick up his tools again.

“Yes…” Blade started. His mouth moved silently for a few long moments as he sorted through his thoughts then finally spat out a word. “How?”

“Nick, can you stop stuffing your face for a moment and help?” The mechanic replied pointedly as he once again got to work prepping Blade for his next stunt.

“Fine.” I mock glared at Maru, but I could feel a touch of a smile twitching at the corner of my mouth, so I am pretty sure that he didn’t fully believe me which meant I was safe from the mechanic’s curse. Beside him Blade tried to use his ‘death glare’ on me, which nearly made me giggle. The poor kid didn’t know how cute he was when he was pouting. Luckily for both of them, this was a story I liked to tell so a swallowed both doughnuts I had managed to snag while the two of them had been arguing and started to weave my tale.

“Before I fledged we had a police helicopter come to my class. Man…” I closed my eyes remembering the moment, “Man, he was so rad. That was the moment that I knew that I wanted to be that awesome. And I actually made it happen. I got good grades and was able to get a placement in the police academy, then on the force.”

“So…how did you get here?” Blade asked a bit slack-jawed.

“I quit.” I replied cheekily as I stuck my tongue out at my partner. “Over the next decade, I realized that being a police helicopter meant being stuck in the office doing stacks of paperwork and waiting for something exciting to happen. I was too small to make a lateral into EMS, so I volunteered to help with every slagging project so I could just get out of that office. Eventually, I got tasked with helping with a bunch of PSA. Those led me to be on-screen and those on-screen credits got me the exposure I needed to get picked up by Hollywood.”

“So…” Blade looked thoughtful as he chewed on his lip. “So, why aren’t you playing the responsible cop?”

Maru actually burst out laughing at Blade’s comment. “I am once again going to tell you to look at him.”

Blade did. He studied me for a few long moments with a sober expression before looking me straight in the eyes. “Why? I know you can act and now I know that you are perfectly capable of keeping your tail in line. Why did you choose to play the rebel?”

“Because life is short, and it is a lot more fun when you have the freedom to flirt, fly, and frolic.” I gave Blade a knowing wink. “I don’t know if there is a place where I can truly be who I want to be, but this set is close enough and I intend to take advantage of every moment I have on it.”

Term – Police – Police are classified as the enforcement arm of a local government. There are many roles that police play in a community, but police helicopters tend to be used in search and rescue, monitor traffic, disaster response, and to respond to mass causality incidents where an eye in the sky would be useful. Helicopters are very expensive to operate (in excess of $250 per hour for the smallest aircraft) so they are only used by large cities and/or when ground resources aren’t capable of completing the task.

Chapter Text

Dalmatian Toadflax had been introduced to North America for erosion management but its toxic leaves and deep roots had rapidly turned it into an invasive species of concern in all of the National Parks it had been planted in. Most of these parks were able to manage their Toadflax issue with a combination of pulling and chemicals, but geothermal parks like Yellowstone and Piston Peak ran into a problem that stopped their weed management program in its tracks…they couldn’t safely remove Toadflax directly around the geothermal features.

For decades the answer had simply been to manage things the best they could, knowing full well that the invasive plant species would always have be able to produce/spread seeds from the geothermal areas. But eventually, technology gave the park the tool they needed to solve the issue in front of them, and it utterly fascinated members of the Piston Peak Air Attack Team.

“They are so tiny…” Drip looked down at the little flock of Quadcopters that had just been assigned to their base for the next month.

“They are absolutely adorable.” Pinecone practically gushed as she leaned over to try to catch a closer look, which caused the four tiny aircraft to press themselves close together as the much larger vehicle towered over them.

“All of you, please give your new colleagues some room.” Blade finally put his tire down when he noticed just how tightly the smokejumpers were surrounding the much smaller craft. The jumpers grumbled a bit but backed up. Only once Blade was sure that they were not going to rush right back in did the helicopter scan the little quadcopters’ markings until he found the one that matched the team leader. “Flit, would you mind joining me in my hanger?”

“Of course.” The tiny craft kicked herself into a hover, gave her fellow quadcopters a sympatric look, and then indicated that she was ready to follow.

Blade just gave a quiet nod and started to roll towards his hangar. He was halfway there when he glanced back only to see the quadcopter struggling to keep up with him.

“Would you like a ride?” Blade asked, putting out a stabilizer in her direction.

“Thank you, sorry about that.” Flit breathed as she perched on Blade’s stabilizer. “Your base is a bit bigger than we are used to.”

“They haven’t had you operate out of an airport before?”

“No…” The tiny craft shrugged. “Normally aircraft don’t really like us operating too close to them as we are too small for us to easily spot when we are in flight, and we are too slow to move out of their way if we spot them in time.”

“I can see that.” Bladed hummed softly to himself as he pushed open his hangar door. “A lot of aircraft aren’t that fond of flying around firefighting aircraft as well. Too many flight restrictions, I guess.”

Once the door was closed, he motioned for his guest to find a place to settle in. She took to the air scanning her surroundings for a good perch before deciding to alight on Blade’s desk. After she was settled Blade asked if she would like some refreshment.

“Coffee or tea would be fine…but just a small cup and…and with a lot of sugar in it.” Flit blushed slightly and refused to meet his eyes as she made her request.

Blade made a quick call over the radio for Maru to grab them some coffee. It didn’t take long for the mechanic to arrive and Flit’s face light up when she saw a cup that was just her size. At the quadcopter’s positive response, Blade quietly let out the breath he had been holding. He was incredibly grateful that he had chatted with Cabbie about what types of preparations they should make to accommodate their tiny visitors, and the old plane had informed them that they really needed to get a set of dinnerware that would meet their guest size.

That suggestion had led them to borrow a child’s tea set from one of the ranger families who lived by the lodge. It was a tacky little set with Disney princess plaster across the sides of the cups and plates, but Flit appeared thrilled to simply have something she could easily drink from. In addition to the coffee, Blackout had clearly done some baking and there was a little plate of cookies just right for the quadcopter to easily eat along with a larger plate with cookies clearly made to meet Blade's dimensions.

“Thank you.” Flit allowed her eyes to flick between Blade and Maru. “I will admit that I was really nervous about being embedded here…there were simply so many unknowns. But it seems you have already put a lot of thought into hosting us.”

Maru actually chuckled softly at that comment. “Well, most of the people here know what it is like to navigate a world that really isn’t built for them, so thinking about this stuff is kind of second nature to us.”

“That said.” Blade gave Maru a pointed look, before giving Flit a warm smile. “If you find anything that we have missed, please let us know. We probably will not be able to get additional supplies in, but my people are incredibly skilled at jury-rigging solutions.”

“I am sure.” Flit returned his smile. “I guess we probably should start with where my people will be roosting for the night and from there, we can start planning out a work schedule.”

“Alright.” Blade cleared his throat as he rolled out a map of the base. “We initially were planning on putting you and your team in our guest hangar…but given the size of the base, I want to give you some other options. For example, we could bunk you all with the smokejumpers which would drastically reduce your travel distance to the latrines and main hangar…”

For the rest of the afternoon Blade and Flit worked out the logistics. By the time they were finished both aircraft had gained an increased respect for each other and both were looking forward to working together in the days to come.

Term – Quadcopter – A quadcopter is a type of helicopter that achieves lift through the use of four rotors. While there are some large-scale experimental quadcopters, most tend to be small drones or UAVs. Even though quadcopters are often tiny compared with other types of aircraft, they have proven to be a valuable tool for photo surveys, search and rescue operations, and plant species management. Even though your feet are firmly on the ground, many quadcopters still require a pilot’s license to operate.

Chapter Text

Windlifter breathed and took a moment to close his eye. The task that was placed before him was a daunting one…one that was should technically be above his ability, but Windlifter has learned long ago that many limits were artificial. He knew that while he usually focused on using brute strength to solve a problem, sometimes it was far better for him to use his brain to discover a solution.

He breathed and he listened. As an aircraft, he had been taught to watch for the subtle signs that showed how the air was moving across the landscape, but Windlifter had learned long ago that sight wasn’t the only way to gauge the winds. The sound could tell him information that his eyes couldn’t. While many of the quieter whispers of the wind were currently being drowned out by the thunder of his own rotors, he could still glean enough information to allow him to formulate a plan.

He breathed and focused his full attention on the current moment. He scanned his surroundings and made his plan of attack. He was only going to get one chance to do this, so he was determined to do this right.

He breathed and pulled upward, straining to move the mass of steel in place. At first, the whole massive metal tried to ignore his pull upward and tried to stay firmly anchored to the ground, but then Windlifter pivoted the angle of his wide rotor disk taking advantage of the mountain winds that were rushing up the mountain valleys. With the added power of the relative winds, Windlifter was finally able to force the metal frame into the air. With strained precision, the Skycrane maneuvered the metal frame into position before letting it come in contact with the ground again.

“Nice job, Windlifter!” Maru practically beamed up at him. “Now hold it still so that I can weld this in place.”

And with that Windlifter breathed, letting go of some of the tension that he had been holding since the operation began. He breathed and knew that he had done his part to make sure that the base would have a functioning air traffic control tower by the time the smokejumpers arrived in the spring.

Term – Relative Wind – Relative wind describes the relationship between airflow and an aircraft’s wing. In normal flight, the relative wind is in the opposite to the path of an aircraft. In rare circumstances an aircraft can fly in the same direction as the relative wind it is flying in. This is how the Antonov An-2, a biplane known as an Annie, can fly backward during a stiff wind or how Skycranes can use the wind to help them get loads that should exceed their lift capacity off the ground.

Chapter Text

There was a part of Maru that really, really hated mornings. If he had his druthers, he would happily sleep in until noon and stay up past two every single day…but that schedule didn’t match up well with a wildland firefighter’s life. So while Maru sometimes had to burn the midnight oil taking care of one or another member of the team, he always seemed to wake up at the crack of dawn. That said, there was a big difference between waking up and moving.

This morning was proving to be a fairly typical morning. The pink light of dawn was currently starting to peek through is window and Maru yawned carefully listening for whatever sound had woken him from his slumber. Based on the purr of the engine, he was pretty certain that it was Dynamite who was the first vehicle out and about. She was doing her best to be quiet but there was only so much the ATV could do…and honestly, she probably could stomp about and still not wake most of the base up. Cabbie could sleep through pretty much anything, Windlifter and Dipper were dead to the world at this time of the morning, and the smokejumpers probably couldn’t hear her over Avalanches snoring. The only ones she might disturb were Blade and Patch, but those two slept on the periphery of the base for a reason.

Speaking of the devil, Maru could hear a low wine of an engine starting up in the distance. Blade was obviously also up and warming up his engines. After a few moments, the wine grew into a thunder as the helicopter took to the skies. Maru closed his eyes as he listened to Blade. He carefully took apart his best friend’s engine in his mind, making sure that all of the pieces of the engine sounded healthy. This morning there was a slight hint of a squeal that made Maru suspect that Blade might have a sprag clutch starting to act up. He yawned and made a mental note to drag the Chief into a checkup that afternoon.

Blackout and Cabbie were the next two to get their tails on the tarmac. Maru could clearly hear the crunch of gravel as Blackout rolled across the tarmac to the main hangar to start working on breakfast preparations. Cabbie, on the other tine, stayed very close to his hangar, but Maru knew he had moved because he could hear the low rumble of the old bird’s voice as he reported-in to the morning radio nets.

At this point, Maru stretched and tried to blink the rest of his sleep from his eyes. His head was already starting to throb with caffeine withdrawals and while he knew that he really should cut down on his coffee intake he also knew that it wasn’t going to happen this season.

Rolling out onto the tarmac, the sun was already too bright for his undercaffeinated brain. He resisted the urge to hiss at hit as he made a beeline to main hangar, where he discovered that he had gotten his timing just a little bit off. Either he was a little bit early, or Cabbie’s radio nets had gone a little bit long which caused the Flying Boxcar to still be brewing the coffee when Maru rolled in. Cabbie looked amused at Maru’s annoyance, but the old plane had enough common sense to keep his mouth shut which allowed Maru to focus his full angst at the percolating pot.

Eventually, after an anguishing three minutes, the water stopped flowing through the grounds and Cabbie poured out his brewer’s privilege. Maru attacked the pot directly after him and he had a mug poured out before Cabbie even had a chance to take a sip. Caffeine successfully secured; Maru could finally turn his attention to his wait for Blade. Luckily Maru, Blade was easily ambushed at the coffee pot.

“Blade.” Maru said as the Helicopter snagged himself a mug of morning coffee after his morning patrol.

“Yes?” The Chief asked with a small yawn.

“You get to visit me this afternoon.” At Maru’s words, Blade let out a groan that nearly made up for the morning’s late coffee. The mechanic just smiled back, patted him on the nose and headed back out onto the tarmac to get the day started.

Term – Sprag Clutch – Sprag Clutch are based on a circular flywheel. They are particularly useful in applications when you need a high level of control when rotating something. As a result, sprag clutches show up in places like roller-coasters, conveyer belts, manufacturing, construction cranes, and helicopters. The type of sprag clutch used will depend on the application but usually fall into one of two types: one/locking and two-directional. 

Chapter Text

Semantics, it was one of Windlifter’s absolute favorite words. He loved the way it described the study of language, he loved how it encouraged his students to look deeper into the texts they were assigned…but he especially loved the way it rolled off of the tongues of the people around him when he found ways to twist words to his will. Semantics turned hailstones to snow, and an emergency into a once in a lifetime adventure.

Looking into the true meaning of words had been the reason that Windlifter had invested in his most expensive modification…teetering hinges. He technically didn’t need them because his numerous rotor blades allowed his disk to compensate for the effects of dissymmetric lift, but the moment he had learned about teetering, Windlifter had wanted to do it.

It had taken Windlifter just over two decades to save enough money to undergo the procedure and he had never been happier when he woke up knowing that every time he flew from that moment forward he was going to be flapping his wings to do so.

Term – Teetering – A helicopter’s rotor disk produce dissymmetric of lift. In order to combat the uneven lift produced by the rotor disk, a teetering hinge is added to the mast. This allows the helicopter’s blades to ‘flap’. Because a helicopter’s rotor blades are literally the aircraft's wings, teetering hinges allow helicopters with this piece of equipment to flap their wings to fly. Teetering hinges are expensive to both install and maintain, so they are usually only found in aircraft with four or less blades but they can be added to helicopters with more blades to smooth out their ride.

Chapter Text

Maru had learned long ago that aircraft both shied away and craved touch. Both planes and helicopters were such delicate creatures by nature, so it made sense that they were so careful not to bump into things and were extremely uncomfortable with unexpected pushes. That said, aircraft were also completely depending on others to help them complete some basic daily functions. While they may appear to outsiders to be aloof, they often built deep, sometimes lifelong symbolic relationships with others.

At Piston Peak, they were short of the normal ratio of tugs to aircraft, so most of the aircraft simply learned how to scratch their own itches. Some did it elegantly by arching their backs and rubbing them against one of the hangers, others found a low-hanging branch of a tree and brushed up against that, still, others just did their best to ignore the discomfort and move forward. But on days when one or more or the aircraft just couldn’t unwind and drift into badly needed sleep, Maru knew just the right place to scratch to help the tension melt away from their frames.

He had known Blade’s sweet spot for decades. Maru couldn’t say the exact moment when he had discovered it, but now when the helicopter was hurting or plagued by nightmares the mechanic would make long soothing strokes up Blade's nose to just below his windshield. Blade would often protest when Maru would start running his tines up his black-painted skin, but those protests would often cease the moment that the first stroke ended. The helicopter would shutter for just a moment as the tension started to leach out of his frame and Maru would soon be able to lull him to sleep.

Windlifter’s sweet spot had been one of the easiest to find. When the Skycrane was stressed, he had a bad habit of clenching his teeth so hard that Maru was sometimes worried he would crack one. When this happened, Maru had found that running his tine along the big helicopter’s jawline often forced Windlifter to open his mouth. Once that was done, all the mechanic had to do was keep massaging the point until the rest of the stress in his frame began to dissolve.

Maru wasn’t sure if he would have been able to locate Cabbie’s sweet spot if it hadn’t already been in his medical file. It was located upon the center of his back, where the joint between his wing spars used to be. Now it was an area thick with solder. Over the years, Maru could tell when that mound of solder started to develop an itch that would probably drive a lesser aircraft mad…but Cabbie, old Cabbie would never mutter a peep about it. That said, if Maru offered to scratch it for him, Cabbie never said no. And even though it was a lot of work to climb up on Cabbie’s back, Maru was more than willing to do it because the old plane was always so grateful to be granted relief from the itch that was tormenting him.

All of the smaller planes that came under Maru’s care tended to have the very same sweet spot. Which Maru found fairly amusing. They all like their bellies rubbed. For Dipper, she particularly liked being stroked on either side of her scoop and would sometimes find shallow rocks on anchor lake to rub up against. The SEATs tended to particularly enjoy when Maru was able to scrub down their bellies with some water and a scrub brush, with each of them practically melting like butter under the attention.

Yes, every single one of the aircraft under Maru’s care craved touch in one way or another. But what most of the aircraft didn’t realize was that the need went both ways. When things went wrong or nightmares reared their ugly heads, Maru needed the aircraft around him to help keep him grounded. He needed to press against Blade’s skin and hear the whir of his pumps. He needed to shelter under Cabbie’s broad wings and know that he wasn’t alone in the world. He needed to tinker, to work, to be relayed upon. Maru knew that the aircraft he worked with sometimes felt guilty about relying on the mechanic for their survival…but what the aircraft never knew was Maru desperately needed to be needed by them.

Term – Unwind – To unwind means to release tension or stress. It is particularly important to find ways and time to unwind when performing dangerous or complex types of work such as firefighting.

Chapter Text

The fire swept over the ridge with the speed and fury of an inferno, leaving nothing but blackened trees and ashy soil in its wake. The radio repeater that facilitated communication up and down Piston Peak National Park was now nothing but a warped pile of worthless metal. This was a heavy blow to Blade and his team because with as fast as this fire was moving, communication was critical. So as he eyed the fire, the Chief made a call of the radio.

“Cabbie. Get fuel and kitted up. You are going to be flying high bird until this mission is done.”

“Understood.” Cabbie’s voice was business-like. With the smokejumpers already deployed in the field, the old plane clearly knew that flying high bird was going to be the thing that would best protect the members of the Air Attack Team. But at the same time, Cabbie also knew just how difficult this mission would be, as a high bird mission would have him flying near his operational ceiling for hours on end. Even with the added benefit of supplemental oxygen, the old bird would probably finish this mission exhausted and plagued by a massive headache.

Still, Cabbie turned his nose back to the Air Attack Base and Blade turned his attention to the scene at tire. It was going to take at least 30 minutes for communication to be fully up and running, so the Chief was going to have to do his very best to keep things under control until then. He circled, making sure that he could maintain line of sight with as many of his people as possible because if he could see his teammates, he knew that he could speak with them over the radio. When line of sight communication proved impossible, Blade moved positions to relay the critical messages.

“High Bird 51 will be in position in 5.” Cabbie’s voice broke Blade’s stream of consciousness. He squinted upward, and sure enough, there was a pair of familiar tails climbing into the sky above them.

“Rodger that, High Bird 51.” Blade replied relieved. “Let us know when you are ready to transfer the radio load.”

“Ready to transfer.” Cabbie replied a moment later, then the aircraft switched from the direct radio channel to the repeater on. “Chief, am I coming through.”

“Loud and clear, High Bird 51.” The helicopter couldn’t help but grin in relief. “Loud and clear.”

With that, Blade was able to turn his full attention back to the fire. After all, there was still retardant in his belly tanks and it was time to make it rain.

Term – VHF – VHF stands for Very High Frequency and refers to the radio frequency bands that aircraft use to communicate. The radio bands used by aircraft are known as line of sight frequencies, which means that they can easily be blocked by mountains or hills. This is rarely an issue for aircraft, unless they are taking off, landing, or performing search and rescue activities.

Chapter Text

To say that Maru was tired would be an understatement…he was slagging exhausted. Every piece of his body ached, and he was pretty sure that he was currently running on coffee alone. Still, he didn’t have time to sleep…there was just too much still to do.

Windlifter was finally stabilized after his gearbox had tried to tear itself apart. They had been lucky, so slagging lucky, that his gearbox had failed so close to the ground and Windlifter had been smart enough to get his tires of terra firma before everything went sideways. If he hadn’t, Maru would have had to fill out a death certificate instead of making updates to Windy’s medical file. It had been touch and go, but tragedy had been obverted…but Maru suspected that the memory of witnessing the Skycrane’s crash was going to haunt his nightmares for years to come.

As the mechanic finished putting the last pieces together and replaced the cowling over Windlifter engine, he tried to ignore how his exhaustion was starting to gray out the edges of his vision. He was having trouble focusing and he knew that it was time to ask for help.

“Cabbie.” Maru spoke over the radio, his voice rough from disuse.

“Cabbie here.” The base’s jump plane replied promptly.

“I need you in the mechanic’s hangar at your earliest convenience.”

“Wilco.” Cabbie’s voice was calm, but the was a hint of concern on the edge of his tone. Maru had clearly given the old plane a bit of a fright, but the mechanic was too tired to care. The sooner that Maru got his task done, the sooner Maru could finally get a well-deserved nap, and at this moment he needed Cabbie’s help to get the last dregs of his works finished.

“Maru?” Cabbie cautiously poked his large nose into Maru’s hangar. Concern was clearly written a crossed his face, but the plane allowed the tug to move at his own speed.

“I need you to check my math.” Maru did his best to blink away the exhaustion. “I am just too tired to trust my figures right now.”

“Ah.” The plane settled heavier on his tires, clearly relieved. While Cabbie had never been given a chance to get a college degree, his experience as a navigator had honed his mathematical skills to the point that no one on base could keep up with his computational talents. He cocked his wings slightly to the side and studied the extensive work that Windlifter had just undergone. After a couple of rotor beats he turned his attention back to Maru. “Weight and balance?”

“Yep.” Maru replied pulling out a stack of his own equations then laid out a large sheaf of paper for Cabbie to do his own equations on.

“Why don’t you get a nap while I work on this?” Cabbie said around the pencil in his mouth. For a moment, Maru allowed his eyes to flicker between Cabbie, the calculations, and Windlifter. The old plane knew exactly how to calm the mechanic’s fears. “I will keep an eye on him for you. If Windy shows any sign of recovering consciousness, I will be sure to wake you immediately.”

Maru wanted to protest, but his eyes were already drifting shut.

Blade was somewhat confused when he spotted Cabbie parked outside of the Mechanic’s hangar. He got concerned when the jump plane was still there an hour later.

“Is everything alright?” The Chief asked as he rolled up on the aircraft.

“Shhh.” Cabbie replied as he quietly motioned towards wear Maru and Windlifter were quietly snoring inside of the hangar. “It was a pain getting Maru to sleep, so don’t wake him up.”

“Ah.” Blade let all of the tension he was holding release. Maru wouldn’t have allowed Cabbie to take over the watch if Windlifter wasn’t finally on the mend. “I will let you get back to your watch. Call me if you need anything.”

Cabbie simply gave a noncommittal grunt in reply and shooed the helicopter back onto base with the knowledge that both Maru and Windlifter were both well looked over.

Term – Weight and Balance – Before flight, it is incredibly important for a pilot to calculate an aircraft’s weight and balance. The weight refers to the weight of the aircraft, the fuel, and all of the cargo. The balance refers to the distribution of weight across the aircraft's frame. All aircraft have a limited range of weights and balances that it can properly perform. Exceeding an aircraft’s capabilities is a common cause of aircraft crashes.

Chapter Text

Blade had known that the base had outdated equipment well before he had taken on the role of being Chief…he just hadn’t realized just how badly outdated they were until he was in charge of everything. The copier in front of him was truly a dinosaur and while he had been talked through how to use it, actually using it proved to be a challenge he hadn’t anticipated.

The current mess started when Blade needed to make a copy of a map for one of his files. He placed the map on the reader and pressed the big green copy button…and nothing happened. He pushed it again…and still, nothing happened. He flicked the power on the machine off, then on, and then pushed the big green button. The lights on the copy machine flashed once, then it beeped, and for a brief moment Blade thought it might finally print the map…then the whole contraption shuttered, and the helicopter found himself engulfed in a cloud of fine black powder.

It took all of Blade’s self-control not to drop the whole slagging thing off the cliff at the end of the runway, but he knew they didn’t have enough money in the budget to replace it, and slag it, he needed a copier to do his job. Blade did allow himself to let out a long and very descriptive stream of swear words to blow off some of his anger. Once he was no longer seeing red and the helicopter finally admitted defeat. He backed away from the Xerox machine slowly in an attempt to make sure that he didn’t break anything further.

“Maru!”  Blade shouted out his hangar door. A few minutes later a concerned-looking mechanic peeked his head into the cavernous space. When he did Blade simply motioned a tire towards the clearly broken machine in the corner. “Fix it.”

Maru took one look at the mess that have overtaken Blade’s hangar/office and burst out laughing. Once the mechanic finally stopped wheezing, he patted the helicopter on the side. “Don’t worry. I will get it fixed.”

Term – Xerox – A trademarked name for a copy machine, that became both a verb and a noun. Kind of like the boomer version of the word Google.

Chapter Text

No one was exactly sure who had started the rumor, but over the years it became an entrenched part of Piston Peak kid lore that Chief Blade Ranger was in fact, Santa Claus. Some thought it was due to the helicopter’s distinctive color scheme. Other thought it was because Cabbie always delivered their gifts from Santa. If you ever asked the helicopter directly about it, he would deny that he was the man in the red suit. But of course, he would, Santa would be completely overwhelmed with visitors if people knew where he lived.

The children of Piston Peak all swore to maintain Santa’s secret. They worked hard to protect not only Santa but also his elves…I mean smokejumpers. Even when the local children were old enough to know that Blade was not in fact Santa, they happily continued to spin tales that only served to convince the younger vehicles that a living legend called Piston Peaks home.

Most of the time, kids did a very good job being discreet with their hero-worship, but every once in a while a particularly young child would approach seeking attention. Blade and his crew were sitting on the tarmac when one such child rolled up.

“Santa?” The kid whispered as they carefully approached Blade.

“Santa?” Lil’ Dipper squawked back in confusion.

“The kids here know the secret that Blade is really Santa Claus.” Cabbie whispered to Dipper with a conspiratorial wink. It took a moment for the jump plane's words to finally sink into the flying boat's brain, but when it did, she couldn’t help but beam at the child.

“Ah…That is so sweet.” Lil’ Dipper practically gushed, she then turned her full focus and puppy dog eyes on Blade. “Well, Santa, you couldn’t possibly disappoint a little kid, could you?”

Blade was pretty sure that he was capable of killing both of the planes on his team at that moment, but he just managed to keep a strained smile on his lips. After shooting an icy glare at his fellow aircraft he mechanical turned to give the small child his full attention.

“Santa?” The little one was looking up at him with eyes full of wonder.

“Shhh.” Blade winked. “It is a secret. Can you help me keep that secret?”

The child’s eyes got big as they nodded. Then the little vehicle carefully backed away and went looking for their family. For a few brief moments, Blade thought that he had made it through the situation unscathed…but then he saw the kid find their parents and start to happily bounce on their tires.

“Mommy! Daddy! I just meant Santa!”

Blade couldn’t hide a wince as the child’s squeal of excitement could practically be heard halfway across the park. Cabbie of course seemed to ignore the helicopter’s pain and brushed everything off with a chuckle. This only encouraged the Chief to give the oldest member of his team yet another death glare.

“Well, Old Saint Nick.” Cabbie clearly had a death wish as he gentle poked Blade with the tip of a wing. “Why don’t we head back to the North Pole and see if we can get Elf Blackout to bake us all some cookies.”

Blade only response was a faint growl.

Term – Yuletide – Yuletide is a term used to refer to the Christmas Season. Because of its Pagon origins, it often is used in reference to the secular or non-Judeo-Christian aspects of the winter holidays. Major holidays that occur during Yuletide include the winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years.

Chapter Text

Blade usually prided himself on his iron clade self-control. When slag hit the fan, and everything went south he had learned how to maintain nerves of steel. His crew needed him to remain a steady anchor in a storm, one that would guide them safely to the other side. But even the strongest anchors could meet a force that could break them…and for Blade that force was clearly Cad Spinner.

It wasn’t so much that Cad was terrible at his job. He was in fact one of the top in the nation in some aspects of his job, with the keyword being ‘in some aspects.’ While Cad was a top-notch events coordinator, he often failed to realize the intricacies of the day-to-day operations that a National Park required to function.

Given Cad’s background, the gaps in his knowledge were to be expected. The SUV had started and spent most of his career as a Ranger at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington DC where he gained the skills needed to manage marchers, fireworks, and film crews. He was a vehicle that thrived being in the action rubbing tires with politicians, activists, and movie stars, but over time Cad had apparently felt like he had grown too big for his role in the National Mall. He had wanted to move up the ladder and when the Superintendents position at Piston Peaks had opened up, he had lobbied very hard to get it.

The fact that Cad was apparently a marketing genius, didn’t mean that the staff of Piston Peaks welcomed him with open arms. In fact, Blade had hated Cad's guts from their first meeting. The SUV had done enough research to know that Blade was a former TV star…but hadn’t done enough to realize just how much losing Nick and becoming a firefighter had changed him. Cad had tried to smoose him right off the bat, which went about as well as one would expect. Blade had done his utmost to stay civil with his new boss, but apparently, that hadn’t been enough because Cad had gone from overly friendly to giving him the cold shoulder the moment, he determined that Blade wasn’t going to be won over with his charm.

Then the budget cuts started.

At first, the cuts only affected the little things. Purchasing cheaper trash bag liners…reducing the amount of maintenance that happened that was happening behind the scenes…shrinking the number of professional development days. Then Cad had truly started slashing the budget. If it wasn’t directly involved with the customer experience, then losing a third to half of your budget was rapidly becoming the norm.

Next hourly personal were all pushed to part-time hours so that Cad wasn’t responsible to pay them benefits, while salaried employees were required to work a growing number of hours to make sure the work was done. Regardless of which category you fell in, the working conditions caused morale to plummet. Things were getting so bad, that the staffing issues were rapidly becoming a health and safety issue, which was why Blade and Windlifter were sitting in the superintendent’s office trying to get relief for his department.

“From where I am sitting, you are already one of the most expensive departments in the park to run.” Cad had given Blade a fake customer service smile after the helicopter had tried to lay out his issues. “Just look at your fuel consumption, if you need funds to work on one of your little projects, I would suggest finding a way to reduce that line item…perhaps cutting back on what the park provides? I mean, what if you just had all of your vehicles fill up whenever they are off base.”

It took all of Blade’s self-control to keep his voice steady. “I don’t think you understand what the Air Attack Team does. We don’t go out of the park; we live here full time during the fire season.”

“See, that is the spirit!” Cad said with painfully sugary enthusiasm. “You just found another way you could cut costs, because honestly, why should your staff live in the park. Just think how much money you will save if you didn’t have to pay your staff when they were asleep because you had people commute in for their shifts.”

Cad was officially a zeptosecond from getting a rotor blade to the face. The Chief was seeing red, opened his mouth, then felt a familiar feeling of helicopter brushing their rotors through his. The words instantly caught in his throat as his eyes turned to Windlifter in surprise. His lieutenant simply looked back at him as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

It was at that moment that Blade’s life was turned completely on its head.

“We will take your suggestions under advisement.” Windlifter stated flatly. “But for now, I believe the Chief and I need to get back to our work.”

With that, the Skycrane practically herded Blade out of the office, through the building, and onto the tarmac beyond. The smaller helicopter simply let him, particularly out of shock and partially out of sheer curiosity. When they were safely out of earshot of everyone, Blade put on the breaks and insisted on answers.

“Let me get this straight.” Blade parked himself directly in the Skycrane’s path and stared the larger aircraft down. “You haven’t been trying to flirt with me this entire time?”

“Of course not.” Windlifter blinked back in surprise. “That would be highly inappropriate.”

“But you have been…” Blade closed his eyes and breathed in an attempt to keep himself from saying anything too stupid. “All the times…why have you been so touchy?”

Windlifter cocked his rotors to the side. “I was unaware that was being touchy. Is it not normal to allow your personal space to intersect with another’s as an indication of trust?”

Blade felt the tension drain from his entire body as he looked up at the larger aircraft. He sighed heavily. He knew that Skycranes were unique among helicopters, but he hadn’t realized that they were that unique.

“No Windlifter, it isn’t normal for most helicopters.” Then with careful precision Blade allowed his rotor blades to intersect with Windlifter’s. “But thank you for the vote of confidence.”

Windlifter gave a pleased hum in reply. Then his eyes flicked back towards the building they had just exited. “I suspect we still have much to discuss. May I suggest that we head back to base to do so?”

“That is an excellent idea.” Blade smirked in return, then backed up to give them both enough space to take to the sky.

Term – Zeptosecond – Is one sextillionth of a second. It is currently considered the shortest measurable unit of time.