The steam plane looks like it was slapped together with parts of grandfather clocks and potbelly stoves. And yet, it flies.
The V-TOL wings rotate so the chuggy-puffy parts blast their steam at the ground. The plane lifts as a helicopter would.
Once well off the ground, The Mother pulls a lever. The wings gradually rotate to their horizontal position and the plane gains speed at the aviatrix pedals faster and faster.
Yes,
pedals. Apparently the plane has bicycle parts too.
The Mother
The Mother looks at the fairy with genuine empathy.
"He’ll live," she says for Gemini’s sake.
To Gong-Ju, she says,
"If it’s the sea you want, I can fly to the Wolverine Airport after the mission. That’s along the coast, and not too far from Buzzard’s Bottom. You’d love it!
"But my daughter’s trail disappeared around the center of The Massholes’ northern border. The nearest airports are Buckburg and Wusta."
She points to a map that she drew herself on a napkin. Buckburg is close to the northern border. Wusta is halfway between the north and south borders of the uncommonwealth. There’s a trail that leads from Neo Hampshire to Buckburg to Wusta. From Wusta, trails start to branch.
There are several places none of you ever heard of, since the only thing people in Neo Hampshire ever say about The Massholes is that they suck. But there is one town marked on the trail between Buckburg and Wusta:
LeMonster.
The Mother says,
"Either I land in Buckburg and we follow the trail south, or Wusta, and we go north to cut her off.
"If anyone got her to Wusta this quickly…" The Mother prefers to leave that sentence unfinished.