Episode 50 of the podcast, and all the way half-way through FFF. Cool convergence, bro.
Hello new follower , thanks for the follow MovieMann. Welcome to Day 16 of Flash Fiction February, 29 new stories in 29 days. It’s all downhill from here.
There was that dark line of thick, shallow, black clouds. It was no telling where this cold was coming from. It was other-worldly.
The usual wind that initiated down that side of the range met the odd front, and what was once a clear path has now collided and locked the cool air in place. And those thick, black clouds just hang there, cooling.
Wild gusts slam flat surfaces, tear roofs, and break branches. Tons in mass are moved throughout the course of a day. The illusion of safety exists to be mocked.
“Can you find me that sprocket or not?” Flannery asks Sherman, who is the operator of the parts campus.
“I have to get authorization before I can give a sprocket like that to you, Flan… You know that, buddy.” Sherm says.
“Well, what’s the status then?” Flannery asks.
“You’ll know when I know.” Sherm says. “The hack you need a sprocket like that for?” He asks.
“We have to try to do a moving dock to a small bubbler with a slight spin to it.” He says.
“And they asked you to help them with that?” Sherm asks.
“Who the heck else are they going to ask? Are you kidding? Tell me who else can do that.” Flannery says.
Sherm responds, “Look, they make me report everything you do down here; there must be a reason for that.”
“Of course there’s a reason; of course there’s a reason; it’s because they’re taking note, Sherm; they’re getting lessons; they’re self-improving by watching me, Sherm.” Flannery says. “What the heck else did you think was happening?”
Sherman looks away from Flannery, he tilts his head. “I guess it depends on … how you look at it… Flan?”
Flannery steps back from Sherman in disgust. He looks him up and down. “In your best lifetime, Sherm, in your best lifetime.” Flannery says condescendingly.
There is a buzzer and an audio announcement: “Stock order f3122ty approved. Adding Urgent: Expedite stock order f3122ty”
Sherm hesitates; He looks at Flannery in disbelief. He takes a box and hands it directly to him. “This is an expedited item; paperwork on this item is deferred for 48 hours.” Ok, Flan, good luck.”
Flannery says back to Sherman, childishly, “You good luck.”
As Flannery walks away, Sherman is shaking his head. “I don’t know,” he says.
The black cloud line is starting to roil. The range wind is frustrated and rearing at the odd front. The front is a bulldog feigning disinterest.
“We got this thing; let’s go!” Flannery announces to the floor team.
“We should get this completed for the next pass for sure.” Engineer 1 says.
Flannery and two engineers quickly do an assembly for this operation.
They place the assembly into a pre-programmed plasma engine delivery projectile and wheel it out to the launch pad. This entire operation package is the size of a washing machine, and it moves as easily.
Engineer 2: “We have 4 minutes to kill; let’s get back inside.”
“Let’s have a smoke.” Says Engineer 1.
Flannery looks at Engineer 1 with contempt and incredulity: “Very funny.” He says, “Very funny.”
As Engineers 1 and 2 look at each other, Engineer 2 rolls his eyes.
Two minutes later, the three are in the launch view lounge window, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as they wait for the launch.
“About a minute and 15 to go.” Engineer 1 says.
“I wish this was chunky peanut butter.” Flannery says. “It’s far superior to creamy.”
“Creamy is more versatile.” Engineer 2 says.
Flannery glares at him with energy that melts lasers.
“We’re at 20 seconds,” Engineer 1 says.
Flannery contains himself and turns to watch the launch.
“Who would have thought five years ago you could launch a rocket from anywhere.” Engineer 1 says.
The little plasma engine craft hovers for 2 seconds and orients itself, then there is a small burst away from the ground, about 20 feet, then there is a screech and a thrust wave, and that thing is in low earth orbit in about 5 minutes.
“Let’s get upstairs where we can watch this thing,” Engineer 2 says.
The three of them scramble up the stairs, dodging and jockeying for position. There is grunting, yelling, and snickering. There is the flotsam and jetsam of peanut butter and jelly involved.
They watch the radar monitors with jelly on their faces. They can see the assembly moving in the direction of the satellite. They are grinning as they see the assembly attach to the satellite and stabilize it. They celebrate.
The roiling of the black line of clouds subsides. It begins to gray and dissipate. The clouds above that line appear to part and separate. The wind from the range moves freely through the valley again. The gusts cease.
“It’s unbelievable that it’s the year 2032 and people still don’t know we control the weather.” Engineer 1 says.
The End.
Nerdy titles.
* "Cloudy with a Chance of Sprockets: A Nerdy Tale of Weather Control"
* "Schematics and Storms: Adventures in Meteorological Manipulation"
* "Plasma Rockets and Peanut Butter: Chronicles of Techno-Weather Wizards"
* "From Front Lines to Frontiers: Nerds and Their Nebulous Cloud Conquests"
* "Ingenious Inventions and Atmospheric Alchemy: Tales from the Tech Front"
* "Stormy Skies and Scientific Shenanigans: A Nerd's Odyssey"
* "Gadgets, Gusts, and Grins: An Engineer's Guide to Weather Wonders"
* "Sprockets in the Storm: Navigating Weather Control in the Digital Age"
* "Rocket Science and Rainclouds: A Saga of Techno-Weather Mastery"
* "Nerds in Orbit: How Peanut Butter and Plasma Propelled Progress"
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