Prosy: Air Traffic
Jan. 15th, 2012 06:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clare_dragonflyTitle: Air Traffic
Word count: 425
Rating: PG-13 for language
Prompt:anke's: paths in the sky; also inspired by this ballet performance prompt
Notes: I have absolutely no idea where this is going, if anywhere--but I like Captain Agnes!
There was an air barge coming right at them. Captain Agnes Leach hauled hard on the controls and pulled her own airship out of the way. The barge swept past them, without even any kind of acknowledgement. “Fucking asshole!” she shouted after him, even though there was no possible way the air barge’s steersman could have heard her. Then she cursed more as she realized her crutch had slipped out from under her shoulder, she was in serious danger of losing her balance, and she wasn’t going to get her airship back into her lane in time to avoid the next oncoming ship. “Hillary!” she called desperately. “Somebody, I need an assist!”
“I’ve got you, Captain!” came a faint voice from the back of the ship. She heard pattering, running feet, and then saw a small, dark figure stoop over to her right.
“No!” she shouted. “Get the controls, the controls, I can get the damn crutch myself!”
“Sorry, Captain, sorry!” Claudio scurried up to her side and grabbed the controls, pulling them jerkily back into the proper path. Agnes let out an explosive breath and let herself fall to her hands and knee. She was pretty sure the other airship was cursing her just as she’d cursed the barge, but at least they hadn’t crashed.
Once she had her breath back—and had assured herself that Claudio, the youngest and newest member of the crew, was keeping them steadily in their lane—she crawled over to her crutch and finally lifted herself back up onto her one leg. Feeling much better now that she was walking normally, she returned to the controls and took them gently from Claudio, fitting the bottom of her crutch into the divot built into the flooring for it.
“All right, boy, I’ve got it,” she said. “What were you doing before I called you up here?”
“One of the crates had come loose. I was securing it. I finished before I came up here,” he added quickly.
She nodded, and eyed him with some surprise and relief. He didn’t always act competent, but if he knew that one of the most important things on an airship was keeping the cargo in place so it didn’t crush anybody, that was a good sign. She’d only taken him on as a favor to his father, but maybe they would keep him after all. They did need an able hand; being an airship crew with so many missing body parts did gain them some notoriety, but it made some tasks more difficult.
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Word count: 425
Rating: PG-13 for language
Prompt:
anke's: paths in the sky; also inspired by this ballet performance promptNotes: I have absolutely no idea where this is going, if anywhere--but I like Captain Agnes!
There was an air barge coming right at them. Captain Agnes Leach hauled hard on the controls and pulled her own airship out of the way. The barge swept past them, without even any kind of acknowledgement. “Fucking asshole!” she shouted after him, even though there was no possible way the air barge’s steersman could have heard her. Then she cursed more as she realized her crutch had slipped out from under her shoulder, she was in serious danger of losing her balance, and she wasn’t going to get her airship back into her lane in time to avoid the next oncoming ship. “Hillary!” she called desperately. “Somebody, I need an assist!”
“I’ve got you, Captain!” came a faint voice from the back of the ship. She heard pattering, running feet, and then saw a small, dark figure stoop over to her right.
“No!” she shouted. “Get the controls, the controls, I can get the damn crutch myself!”
“Sorry, Captain, sorry!” Claudio scurried up to her side and grabbed the controls, pulling them jerkily back into the proper path. Agnes let out an explosive breath and let herself fall to her hands and knee. She was pretty sure the other airship was cursing her just as she’d cursed the barge, but at least they hadn’t crashed.
Once she had her breath back—and had assured herself that Claudio, the youngest and newest member of the crew, was keeping them steadily in their lane—she crawled over to her crutch and finally lifted herself back up onto her one leg. Feeling much better now that she was walking normally, she returned to the controls and took them gently from Claudio, fitting the bottom of her crutch into the divot built into the flooring for it.
“All right, boy, I’ve got it,” she said. “What were you doing before I called you up here?”
“One of the crates had come loose. I was securing it. I finished before I came up here,” he added quickly.
She nodded, and eyed him with some surprise and relief. He didn’t always act competent, but if he knew that one of the most important things on an airship was keeping the cargo in place so it didn’t crush anybody, that was a good sign. She’d only taken him on as a favor to his father, but maybe they would keep him after all. They did need an able hand; being an airship crew with so many missing body parts did gain them some notoriety, but it made some tasks more difficult.
Did you enjoy this story? You can read all my fiction posted at Dreamwidth!
Yay!
Date: 2012-01-16 12:50 am (UTC)love to see more of Captain Agnes.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2012-01-16 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-16 09:55 am (UTC)("was keeping them steadily in their land" - should that be "lane"?)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-16 05:39 pm (UTC)(Yes it should--thanks! At least that's a typo I can understand...)