The Ardoon King Read online

  Chapter 63: The Anzu

  It had taken an hour to hoist Fiela’s expedition into the airship. The craft could not land, but was equipped with metal cages that could be lowered to the ground by electric wenches. Only five people could fit into a cage at once, and owing to the novice crew’s unfamiliarity with the system, the process of lowering and raising the cage did not go as smoothly as anyone would have hoped. Yet everyone had been brought aboard the craft safely.

  The pilot of the craft, Lieutenant Jahms, was standing in front of a large display, Fiela, Thal, and Disparthian looking on. Sam had retired to a cabin mumbling about unspecified and certainly mythical chest pains.

  “There are many things we don’t know about the vehicle,” Jams said, pointing at a three-dimensional schematic of the craft.

  “What’s it called?” asked Fiela.

  Jahms looked at Disparthian, who shrugged. “It’s designation is AZ-3499.”

  “Why ‘AZ?’”

  The man shook his head. “We don’t know. I’m sure it’s in the literature, but there are thousands of pages in the various manuals we haven’t even had an opportunity to skim. Some of the Peth think - incorrectly, I’m sure - that ‘AZ’ stands for ‘Arizona,’ because at night, with the static dischargers on, it would appear much like the craft that appeared over Phoenix in the 1990s.”

  “That does seem unlikely,” agreed Thal. “It could be named after the ship that sank in Pearl Harbor, though.”

  The pilot shook his head. “The name would not be abbreviated. This is an experimental craft. It would not have been named yet.”

  “Anzu,” said Fiela.

  The pilot looked at the girl. “Excuse me, Annasa?”

  “The ship shall be called the Anzu.”

  “I don’t understand,” said the man, looking at her, then Disparthian, then Thal.

  Thal said, “Our ancestors wrote stories about a gigantic lion-headed eagle. It was so large that when it flapped its wings it caused whirlwinds below. It once stole the ‘Tablet of Destinies’ from the gods. Its name was Anzu.” She turned toward Fiela. “You recalled that story? I’m impressed.”

  Jahms looked at Disparthian, who said, “Let the crew know. This craft is now the Anzu.”

  “Yes, Lord.”

  Thal, by trade an astrophysicist, but with two engineering degrees, moved closer to the screen displaying the three-dimensional drawing of the craft. She touched the screen and made several swipes, studying the schematics from different angles. “There are a large number of remarkably efficient batteries built into the hull.”

  “Yes, Lady,” replied the pilot. He circled one area of the schematics with a finger. “The power system itself remains a mystery.”

  Thal nodded. “I can see why. It’s exceptionally sophisticated. I see evidence of hygroelectics and electrostatic components, though the primary system appears to be solar. That…is that a reactor?” She moved her hand again and again, moving through the schematics at a rapid pace. “The top surface is composed of thin-film solar arrays, while the bottom…”

  She looked at Jahms while gesturing at the screen. “What is that, exactly?”

  The man said, “Optical camouflage. Sides and bottom. It’s not perfect. We don’t become invisible. It’s more of a chameleon effect. In any event, activating it drains the batteries at three times their normal rate. If we left it on too long we’d be dead in the sky without a propulsion system.”

  Thal nodded. “Better to simply fly higher or in clouds. The thrust is omnidirectional, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “How high can we go?”

  Jahms touched the screen and pointed. “As high as we want. The ship is equipped for service as a HALE – a high altitude, long endurance, craft.”

  Disparthian stepped forward. “The ship is loaded with telecommunication’s equipment. It could serve as either a manned communications platform or an unmanned, remotely piloted, high-altitude satellite if we moved it to a geostationary position above the jet stream.”

  Thal turned. “If we used it like a satellite, what would our communications range be?”

  “From Steepleguard? Perhaps 300 miles in any direction. The vehicle would have to be unmanned at such high altitudes. We would also have to strip away many of the pods to lighten the weight of the craft.”

  Fiela said, “Pods?”

  Disparthian replied, “Yes, Annasa. There are forty-five pods on the craft, fifteen on each side, each about the length of a subway car and three times as wide. They have interior doors and some of exterior windows. They are removable and interchangeable. There are dozens more at the airport.”

  “What are they used for?”

  “There are many types. Some are designed to carry cargo, others troops, and others are living quarters, like the one you and Lady Thalassa now occupy.”

  Thal said, “I wonder at the purpose of the ‘living quarters.’ This is clearly a military craft. The pod the queen and I have been placed in has a large bed, a bathroom, an observation window, and even a sound system. It resembles the interior or a high-end recreational vehicle. Why such opulence? It seems a very inefficient use of space.”

  Disparthian answered. “It depends on who the passengers are. Consider the interior of Air Force One. This craft was concealed in an underground hangar next to a bunker that was clearly designed for the apocalypse. It was built to protect the United States’ most powerful and important people, to include the President. This craft was probably intended to serve as floating command center, possible with the Ardoon President aboard.”

  Fiela, looking at the screen, said, “The central cabin, in which we now stand, has three corridors leading from it. These are permanent fixtures?”

  “Correct,” said Jahms. “Each corridor terminates in a ‘T.’ The top of that T abuts all the pods on that side of the craft. Thus, there are three Ts, each joined together at three points. The shared corners that allow personnel to move around the perimeter of the craft. Otherwise, they’d have to pass through the pilot house to get from one side of the ship to the other.”

  Thal shook her head. “Amazing. How is it that you know to fly such a thing? Given the level of sophistication, I’d assume piloting this craft would take months of training.”

  Jahms nodded. “We did have a few days to study the manuals, but you are right. To use the craft to its full potential, months or even years of training would be desirable. However, piloting the craft has been ‘dumbed down’ by the computer interface, which seems to have been modeled after console games. To get into the air and from point A to point B is very easy. It is more complicated to drive a car. In fact, we can easily program the computer to accomplish such a journey with no human intervention. It’s the thousand other features that require study.”

  “How fast can it go?” asked Fiela.

  “We can cruise at 120 miles per hour at optimum altitude.”

  Fiela nodded, still staring at the screen. Something piqued her interest. “What are those?”

  “Those are science pods. Amazing, really, they-”

  “No, those,” she said, pointing again.

  “Oh,” said the pilot. “Yes. I can see what those would interest you.”