The Beginning
part one
By Staci "Windsurfer" Faulkenberry
Page 1
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Thick clouds hung over the Pokahiya Mountain range as a large white and purple plane bearing the logo of Cape Suzette business tycoon Shere Khan on the nose and rudder threaded through the range. Both the pilot and copilot were feeling particularly wary as they made small talk while drinking coffee. Their cargo, the Sub-Electronic Power Amplifier, which they were transporting to Cape Suzette for Mr. Khan, was rumored
to be a revolution in weapons technology and was therefore considered to be very valuable. The two panthers continuously kept watch out the window, for they knew that there was a very good chance that the dread air pirate, Don Karnage, and his crew of cutthroats would try to loot the stone.
The clouds were unusually thick today, unfortunately, and visibility was limited. They didn't see the pirates until the band of CT-37's swooped down practically on top of them. The pilot and copilot broke off their conversation with startled exclamations. They knew that they couldn't out fly Karnage and his band, but that didn't mean they wouldn't try. Fastening their seatbelts and tossing their coffee out the window, the pilot clenched the stick in his paws, bringing the plane about in a sharp turn while the copilot grabbed the radio.
"Mayday! Mayday! This is flight 157 at--" was as far as the panther got before the air pirates' guns took out the radio.
It was over in mere minutes. The band of pirates managed to incapacitate two of the plane's engines, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing on a plateau.
The pirates quickly deployed grappling guns, which hooked onto the plane's wings, and prepared to board the plane. A huge, stupid looking dog and lean ferret were the first through the door, guns cocked and ready to fire should the pilot and copilot resist. They said nothing, just stood there with mean looks on their otherwise stupid faces.
Finally,a dashing looking fox in a blue Napoleon style coat, pale blue breeches, and short, black boots came into the cargo hold just as the pilot and copilot emerged from the cockpit.
"Greetings and salivations, my fellow aviators! It is I, the feared pirate Don Karnage! It has come to my attention that you have some very interesting cargo. I know what a terrible burden it is to be entrusted with such responsibility, so I have most generously decided to relieve you of your encumbrance. If you would please, where is it?" questioned Don Karnage, holding his sword ostentatiously so that its blade caught the sunlight. His voice was heavily accented and spoke of romance and adventure.
The plane's crew was not impressed.
"Where's what?" replied the pilot innocently. If they lost their cargo, Shere Khan would have their hides and they knew it.
Karnage snarled in impatience and menaced the panthers with his sword, his red fur bristling slightly. "Do not play the kiddie games with me! I know you are carrying some very valuable cargo for a certain Mr. Shere Khan!"
"Found it, Cap'n!" shouted the ferret triumphantly, brandishing a small, jeweled box over his head.
"Very good. Now, my men, let us be on our way," Karnage said, his composure regained.
"You're crazy, Karnage! You know that?" stated the pilot. "Shere Khan will have every available pilot in his squadron after you!"
The fox's face darkened and he spun on his heel, grabbing the panther by the front of his jacket and screaming, "Don't ever call me crazy!!"
Letting go of the pilot, Karnage jerked the box out of Maddog's hands and stormed out of the plane. Presently, the two panthers could hear the sound of several planes' engines
starting and the gentle swoosh of the water as they took off.
Looking at one another, the copilot said, "Mr. Khan isn't going to like this."�
Both of them knew that was an understatement.
***
Meanwhile, aboard the huge airship, the Iron Vulture, a brown bear cub wearing a worn green sweater, white undershirt, and a red bandana knotted around his neck was making his way stealthily through the air ducts of the vulture shaped ship. Upon reaching his destination, he looked through the grate at the trio below. Captain Don Karnage was gloating about his latest conquest to his two of his most loyal lackeys, Maddog and Gibber, a small brown dog. The cub steadied himself, only half listening as Karnage ranted and raved about his accomplishment that would bring them all riches.
The cub had more important things on his mind, such as his self-appointed mission. What he was about to do was nothing short of suicide.
But even death would be better than his life. He'd been a pirate for a little over a year now and he was sick of it. He was tired of getting knocked around by the rest of the crew. He was tired of seeing death. He was tired of not being able to trust and not being trusted. In short, he was tired of life in general, even though he was only 12 years old.
If he survived his wild scheme, he hoped to ransom the pilfered stone to Shere Khan and invest the money carefully so that when he was old enough, he could get his pilot's license and a plane.
Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, the cub pushed open the grate and leapt upon the table below, snatching the box that contained the precious stone from Karnage and saying, "For me? Aww, you shouldn't have," and leaping off the table before Karnage and his stunned lackeys could react. Sprinting out the door, he heard Karnage crashing after him, all the while screaming, "What are you doing?! You cannot steal what I have rightfully pillaged!!"
He knew it would only be a matter of time before one of Karnage's pirates got the bright idea to open fire on him, so as he raced past a large dog with a ridiculously tiny hat on his head, he paused long enough to say, "Don't just stand there, Dumptruck! The captain needs your help!"
Obediently, the dumb dog turned around, smashing into Don Karnage. The two went down in a heap and Kit slid down the railing of the nearby stairway, waving cheerfully to his pursuers. Racing across a catwalk, he drew up short as he saw pirates coming at him from both sides. Looking around frantically, he spotted an open air duct and climbed through, knowing that all of Karnage's pirates were too large to get through such a small opening. Emerging in a hallway, he cautiously looked around to see that he was alone and, confirming
this, he leaped out of the duct and pelted down the dim hallway towards the hangar. Along the way, he passed a rack of weaponry and stopped long enough to grab a grappling hook. Turning, a dark, too wise scowl on his young face, he made for the launchbay as if he were pursued by demons, slapping the beak release lever on his way through.
At the edge of the giant beak, he paused for a moment, searching for the cargo plane that his whole plan hinged upon. He'd been studying the cargo routes that Karnage
pilfered by some mysterious means, and he knew that a cargo plane was planning on making a return flight through this area in just a few minutes.
"You cannot escape, my little thief!" he heard Karnage yell from behind him, and he turned, clutching the box in his paws, to see not only the captain, but about a quarter of the crew chasing after him as well.
Karnage saw the boy poised precariously on the edge of the beak and slowed his pace, a sardonic smile creeping up on his face, "Well, well, my traitorous corsair. Perhaps it is none of my business, but you seem to have gotten yourself into a little piccolo, yes-no?"
The cub heard the buzzing of engines, and he grinned inwardly. "No, you're right," he said, steeling himself, "It is none of your business!"
With that, he leaped off the beak, enjoying the sound of Karnage howling in rage behind him. Not hesitating a moment, he whipped out his airfoil from beneath his sweater. With an expert flick of his wrist, he opened it and began to surf on the crescent shaped piece of metal. The red scarf that the cub had worn around his neck since he joined the air pirates flapped in his face. Without hesitation, he tore it off and let it flutter in the breeze. After all, the pirate life had no part for him now. Why should he continue to wear that scarf? Truth to be told, he hadn't liked it when Karnage had given it to him, but, wanting to please his captain and feel like he belonged, he'd worn it without complaint.
As per his careful plan, the cargo plane flew just under the cloud where the Iron Vulture was hiding. Taking aim with the grappling hook, he managed to snag the plane's rudder.
In the cockpit, the pilot was busy talking on the radio, "Breaker, breaker! Come in, Louie! Has the party started yet!"
Before "Louie" could answer, the pilot heard a thump coming from the vicinity of his tail end and looked out the window to see a cub in a worn green sweater and white undershirt and carrying a fancy box and a grappling hook. The grappling hook itself was attached to his plane.
"What, is this?" he wondered, angling his plane towards the tiny island that housed the waystation for pilots known as Louie's and resolving to let this hitchhiker have it when they landed.
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