Fixed Gear No Fear

Five pilots assembled at Fort Tyler around high noon despite forecasts of prolonged radiation exposure to battle the daystar on a mission to the Waltham System. Our objective: visit old-school pilot Fixie to devour waffles and other foodstuffs. After some minor delays and last minute tune-ups, we launched a few minutes late. Rad Max was both mission leader and navigator, which led to the amusing scene of her passing the con to herself.

Crawling maggot Ravensson was not present for the mission, but had recently built a cargo rack for Bieber Fever, and his brother Antlers decided this would be a good day to test it out. He was happy to report that it could carry the toolbag without any noticeable difference in the maneuverability of the ship. He congratulates Ravensson on this accomplishment and looks forward to seeing him join the ranks of full-fledged pilots.

We followed the wormhole most of the way along the Charles Asteroid Belt through to the Watertown System. The atmosphere was overcast, which provided just enough shielding from the daystar to produce optimal riding conditions. Along the way we passed an enthusiastic civilian, who -- by completely random coincidence -- was Silfr's father out for a ride. We took main streets the rest of the way through the Watertown and Waltham Systems, piquing the imagination of many curious local inhabitants.

We arrived at Fixie's abode, where we were promptly showered with fresh lemonade and given a grand tour of the facilities. Fixie showcased her collection of peculiar instruments and archery equipment, and showed us the renovation job she did on the attic and the tile mosaic she created in the bathroom. In her bedroom we discovered a strange hairless creature nestled under the covers, who we learned was named Charles Darwin. Pilots marveled at how warm his body temperature was, and how much he resembled a weird bag of skin. Downstairs we found an even weirder looking alien creature named Leonardo Da Vinci, who briefly communed with Skunk before making his escape.

Snow arrived shortly thereafter on Deep Blue Dream and we prepared a feast of waffles, strawberries, cream, and bacon. Fresh honey still in the comb was had from the hives on Fixie's roof, and out in the yard Silfr made friends with Mako, Fixie's massive Great Dane. Pilots used Fixie's miniature polaroid printer to make custom buttons of various images, and took turns drawing a handmade postcard for Poison Ivy, who was away at camp.

We took a group photo out in the driveway before the main contingent departed for the return leg of the journey, leaving Snow behind with Fixie to catch up on some shows. After a minor hiccup finding the entry to the Charles wormhole, we were back on track, and making good time. We took an even longer stretch of the wormhole than we did on the way out, which was downright sublime. Along the way we stopped for a shore leave by a small waterfall, where pilots ate snacks and observed various waterfowl species hanging out doing their thing. We made it back to base with plenty of time to spare before sundown (and the night mission), and ultimately the earlier threat of radiation never materialized.