The Elementalist

23. Getting Acquainted

Getting AcquaintedIf you would, Miss Román,” said Captain Neverri, gesturing briskly to the MR-6 with a forced smile.

Voi returned one of her own then climbed on top of a wing to board the cockpit, only to realize that she didn’t know how the canopy opened.

“It isn’t locked,” he said. “Here, just slide it back.”

The canopy slid easily enough. Voi slipped into the seat, the control stick positioned between her legs. “Oh… oh, this is nice.” The scent of new leather wafted around her. She quickly scanned the interior.

“Hmm.”

The cockpit was less snug than she was used to in a conventional aeroplane. Being accustomed to flying with minimal instrumentation, it was the control panel which gave Voi pause. There were all sorts of meters, switches, and gadgets including an ‘aetherometer’ and a round glass display with concentric circles on the surface. There were a few features that were familiar to Voi, however: an altimeter, an airspeed indicator, and a fuel gauge, to name a few. She also spotted built-in radio equipment—something most other aeroplanes still weren’t equipped with, despite being standard integrations into airships nowadays.

Voi glanced over at the captain, her eyebrows raised. “Well?”

Looking all but resentful, Captain Neverri climbed onto one of the wings, lay on his stomach, then leaned into the cockpit just off to her left. Voi glared over her shoulder, miffed by his proximity. “Don’t give me that look,” he snapped. “How else am I supposed to show you the controls?”

She faced forward again, sticking her nose in the air. “A pointing stick would do nicely. Works well from a distance.”

Neverri sniffed. “This isn’t a lecture on some dry university course. This is real-world, on-the-job training. With your truncated university experience, I expected you’d be up to it.”

Voi gave him a sour look, wondering how much about her past he knew.

Ignoring her, he reached for a lever then forced it to its lowest level, grunting as he stretched to adjust a control on Voi’s right. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Making sure this plane doesn’t accidentally hover to the ceiling when you turn it on. Whoever was in here last clearly hasn’t observed proper post-flight procedures.” He flipped a few switches with a scowl on his face.

Voi nearly laughed at his terseness, but instead, she pressed her lips together, suppressing her amusement.

“What’s so funny?” the captain demanded.

She shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

For the next ten minutes or so, Captain Neverri explained to Voi the basic controls of the MR-6: roll, pitch, yaw, and its two means of thrust. For vertical thrust, he pointed out that there was an ‘aether drive’ contained within the aeroplane’s core, whose primary function had been previously explained. He added that this unusual drive also served as a gravitational center to the plane while providing stability to some of the tailless aerocraft’s natural shortcomings—the particulars of which he curiously opted to gloss over.

Furthermore, the unique gyroscopic configuration supporting the crystal in the core not only provided direct vertical liftoff while in its standard position but also alternative pitch and yaw control. This was achieved by switching off the aether drive’s gyro-configuration on the control panel then continuing to use the stick as normal, if desired—a feature very much foreign to Voi.

“Why would I need to use that?” she asked.

He gave her a surprised look. “In case of engine failure!”

“Oh.” She blinked. “Well, I suppose that could come in handy.”

He resumed his lecture.

The drive’s thrust lever was stubborn enough to encourage safe, gradual changes in power levels, she discovered while dry testing this control on the right side of the instrument panel. Captain Neverri pattered on about the aethercraft’s more unconventional features.

“What about roll?” Voi asked, looking up.

“That’s still controlled with the stick,” he said, “as is pitch, primarily. However, whereas something like the Belareaux would have separate elevator and aileron systems, I’ve opted to combine the two.”

“So that makes it, what, an… elevon system?”

“Yes, something like that.” He blanked for a moment. “You know, I never thought of a name for it before, but I like that, actually.” He laughed. “Yes, elevons. Clever.”

Voi stared at him with glossy eyes; this was nothing like any aeroplane she’d ever flown.

“In any case,” he said, pointing to the controls, “if you ever decide to rely on the aether drive for lift, then remember, the higher you wish to go, the more throttle you must apply. I’ve marked it with various power levels, which are monitored by the aetherometer here. I even color-coded them: red being the highest level, to be used only in the most extreme circumstances—which, I can assure you, won’t be necessary today.”

Something inside Voi sank upon hearing this, and her posture shrank.

“Now, these are all based on preliminary calculations and tests I’ve run on the projected service ceiling of the aerocraft—which is roughly forty thousand feet, I suspect, though we won’t really know how accurate any of this is until we actually fly the thing high enough or fast enough, will we?”

Voi nodded, resisting a smile.

“Anyway, you’ll want to stay in the dark green zone until we’re ready to test at higher altitudes.”

Voi kept nodding, following everything that Neverri pointed to on the panel—and there was a lot of pointing. Still, when he was finished, she shrugged. “Seems simple enough.”

“Good. Then you’re ready to test the craft’s turbine engine today, I presume?”

“Oh! Well, I was hoping to learn more about the—”

“Hold on, let me grab the flying cap and… Lester! Where is that skinny bastard?”

Voi arched an eyebrow.

Emíl happened to be walking nearby, so the captain rephrased his query in Borellian. The mechanic replied, “Well, he’s probably in the observation tower, boss. I’ll go double-check.” He ran to the back room.

“And bring Miss Román the flying cap with the earphones in it, will you?”

“You got it!”

“Earphones?” Voi repeated in Windi.

“Why yes, so you can hear us over the radio!”

“Oh. Say, why does one need such an advanced flying machine anyway? Are our enemies building the same?”

“Well, that would be telling, Voi.” He grinned.

She wasn’t sure what to make of this.

A few minutes later, Emíl returned with a leather flying cap that had round bulges where the ears should fit. He handed this to Voi. “Dammissi.”

“Thank you.” For a moment, she was distracted by a chord dangling from it.

“Try it on,” said the captain. “We need to make sure it fits you properly.”

Voi gave a sheepish smile as she pulled the cap on. It was a snug but comfortable fit, though having a headset built in did feel unusual.

The corner of Captain Neverri’s mouth curled up slowly. “Perfécti.” Suddenly anxious to move on, he scooted forward then reached deeper into the cockpit for better access to the radio controls on Voi’s left.

“Oh!” she cried when he brushed against her bosom, attempting to plug the cap’s wire into the receiver

“Sorry, just need to find the right frequency here.”

Voi pressed her back into the seat, subconsciously holding her breath and wondering how long this would take. The captain looked at her with a subtle smirk. She peered at him. No decency at all.

Moving on, he explained how a microphone was built into the flying cap. Asking Voi to hold a button at her throat to speak then later releasing to receive, he called out playfully, “Lester? Oh, Lester? Can you hear us, Lester?”

Suddenly, Voi gave a startled yelp then covered her mouth; Lester’s voice was saying in her ears, “I can hear you just fine, boss.”

Neverri laughed. “I take it we have communication.” He gestured to his throat so she would let him speak over the radio again. “Say, how’s the weather out there, Lester?”

Voi listened: “Perfect for flying! Headwind from the east.” She relayed the message.

The captain braced himself to move, smiling at Voi. “She’s all yours.” He pushed himself out of the cockpit then climbed off the wing and began giving the aerocraft an exterior check. Milia and the colonel gave him a wide berth as he shooed them away to the office, where it was safer. And quieter.

Alone now, Voi pressed the button for her microphone. She called out tentatively in Windi, “Hello?”

“Well, hello there, Voi! Can you hear me alright?”

“Yes, Lester. I can hear you fine.”

“Fan-ta-stic.”

“I’ve never used a radio in an aeroplane before.”

“Aw, it’s like tin cans and string: you’ll have some fun with it. Say, is the boss still hovering around?”

Voi looked up, spotting the captain in front of the aerocraft with his hands on his hips. “Hold on, Lester. I think he’s trying to get my attention.”

“Standing by.”

Voi pushed herself up and stretched her neck, looking through the windshield. “Yes?”

Neverri explained, “Lester will be walking you through the procedures for your first test, though a few pointers: you always want to make sure that the lever for the aether drive is situated at the lowest level before starting the turbine engine, as I’ve done for you. Later, you can begin to increase throttle gradually.” He pointed at her. “Gradually, I say.”

“Of course.” She put on her ‘good girl’ smile.

He gave her a stern look. “Now is not the time for antics, Miss Román. You do exactly as we say.”

Voi took her goggles from her coat pocket then pulled them on, ignoring him with a loud snap of the straps. “Ow,” she said, flinching.

Captain Neverri shook his head then walked away, shouting orders in Borellian. Men in fur-lined jackets and noise-muffling headsets hurried out of the hangar, though two of the crew members rushed to the main doors in preparation for Voi to take flight.

The aviatrix flexed her gloved fingers on the control stick, grinning in anticipation.

Now was her moment.