Fanfic: The Flying Cloud

[dannavy85]

ASTROBOY
The Flying Cloud

ASTROBOY 2003 © Sony Pictures. Osamu Tezuka 1954, all rights very respected. Non-monetary honorific fandom.

Rongulap
Caroline Islands
Central Pacific
June 18th 1944

“OPEN FIRE!”

A seaman on the USS South Dakota pulled on the two brass triggers in his hands and all hell leaped from the muzzles of the 16” guns above. The South Dakota, Maryland and three heavy cruisers in the vanguard of the morning assault sent a shower of steel crackling and whistling through the sky…

It caught the defenders on Rongulap in a rain of hell. Scrambling from their tents like ants, some got their machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons while others scrambled to reach the camouflaged tin hangers where fighters were rowed up along the makeshift dirt and coral runway.

The first plane to come rolling out of its shelter was the first plane cut to pieces by the 50 caliber rounds from a Gruman Wildcat as it screamed over the top of the hapless ground crews…

In the wake of the morning blitz was left fire, smoke and the groans of the wounded and dying.

Rongulap
2017

Two pairs of boots crossed over the green carpet of tropical growth. Reno was doodling on a scratchpad and looking at his palm pad without the slightest care in his steps. He was suddenly stopped in his footfalls as Astro jumped in front of him and held him while digging his heels into the ground.

"Umph! What gives?" Reno asked as Astro pointed to the ground. His eyes bugged when he saw the half buried hulk of a 16 inch naval shell sticking out of the dirt. "Eeep!"

Astro relaxed. "I'm pretty sure it's safe. We should be more careful, I bet the whole islands covered in ammo."

Reno looked around. "I forgot this was once an airfield. The Americans plowed through the Carolines on their way to Japan in World War II."

Astro pursed his lips. "You really can't tell if you don't look too hard. The vegitation grew like crazy." He picked at the growth and felt the ground. "Crushed coral...this must be where the runway was."

Reno shrugged his shoulders. "We're not here for history lessons. The Doc wants those plant samples for the climate conference in August. I don't know about you but I'd like to have at least one night in a hotel bed and a warm soapy bath."

Astro smirked. "You sure need it. I'm tired of tent fungus."

Reno smacked Astro with his note book. "Find some samples plastic puss."

Astro turned on the HUD displays in his eyes and scanned the vegetation closely for the signatures of pollution, metallic debris and concentrated carbo-sites that would show how much effect pollution and anti-pollution efforts by humans had affected such sparse regions of the Pacific. Every few steps he’d kick the remains of something…a rusted helmet or a rotted rifle stock, signs of the long ago ravage brought on the Island by man’s brutal war-making.

A sudden rise in metallic content made Astro wince. “No way…” He said to himself as he parted a thick growth of Kudzu and tropical vines blocking his way. Perhaps it was another Battleship shell or a long covered anti-aircraft gun? Astro pulled and tore at the dense growth till his hand fell upon something hard…and hollow.

Reno was a few yards away collecting water when Astro came up behind him and snatched him by the shirt. “Hey! You made me spill the water sample!”

“You gotta see what I found!” Astro said excited. He pulled Reno behind him to the spot where he cleared most of the growth. “I think it’s a plane.”

Reno looked at the uncovered wing and smirked. “Doy! Are they teaching you anything in school?”

Astro miffed. “I thought you’d be a little interested. As long as it’s been sitting here, it looks well preserved.”

Reno watched as Astro tore away the vegetation. “You know what this is? An A6-M Zero!”

Astro stood atop the spine of the Japanese fighter and proudly smiled. “It’s mine!”

“Oh sure….if you can get it to fly.” Reno remarked as he pointed to the weeds and vines growing through the front cowling. “It’s riddled with bullet holes.”

Reno climbed up the side to look in the cockpit. “I wouldn’t sell this thing on E-Bay.”

Astro slowly walked up to the back of the cockpit and looked down. “A little messy but who says I can’t fix this up?” He gave Reno a look of pitty. “After all you Aaaaaare the best mechanic I know.”

Reno Snorted. “Now you’re getting me into this? I have enough to do as it is.”

Astro slipped into the cockpit, picked up an annoying spring that crunched under his butt and shook it at Reno. “School will soon be out. You got nothing important to do during the summer so don’t blow me off.”

“I do too have important things….I have Abby.” Reno replied with a smirk.

“If you blow me off and I find out you’re just sitting around? I’ll never do anything with you ever again. I will take it as a personal blow against my innocent nature and you will become my bitter rival.”

Reno frowned for a moment then playfully smiled. “You are such a stink artist!”

Astro pulled on the control stick of the Zero and it came out of its socket. “Oops! Mark that on the too do list.”

It was hours before the boys had the Zero completely free of the foliage to where they could really give it a good look. “I’m surprised the gas tank didn’t explode with these bullet holes. The Zero was nicknamed the “Zipp-oh” by the Americans.”

Astro turned on his x-ray setting after pushing Reno back behind him. “The framework’s pretty sound. A few of the ribs are cracked though and it’s got a ton of growth in it.”

“How are you going to get this thing back to Japan?” Reno asked while Astro tapped his foot.

“I’ll strap it to my back and walk across the ocean bottom.”

“Get real dufus.”

“I’ll carry it back while you fly the Walenda.” Astro said as he crawled around under the belly of the plane.

“I dunno.” Reno said questioningly. “Let me call the Doc and see if he can arrange some way to have an “INSEE” (Institute of Science) plane meet us at Rendova to take it back.”

Astro looked up. “Would he do that?”

“He might if you promise to slave around the Institute for the next twenty years. Relax, I can snuggle him enough to buy into it.”

Astro stood up smiling. “I knew you’d help.”

Reno sighed deeply. “You really want to try and restore this thing? I mean look at it, at best we might be able to get to a showroom quality.”

Astro leaned against the side. “I must admit I’m brutally weak when it comes to anything that flies. Really Reno, school’s gonna be out in a couple of days and what are we going to do? Tamao’s not going to camp, Ken’s not going to his grandmothers, Abercrombie sits around the neighborhood and my mind was a total blank….till this. We all built the Walenda in two months, you can’t tell me we can’t restore this old plane in two?”

Reno smirked. “You’re gonna spot for all the pizza and soda on this one. We’ll probably put in a month of lost sleep.”

Rendover

Mister Walrus, Astro’s principal and moonlighting detective, met Reno as he climbed down off the Walenda. “I hope you two can convince Doctor O’Shay that sending this cargo plane was worth the expenses.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m blameless.” Reno replied waving his hands. “Astro was dead set on taking it all the way to Japan by himself and once his mind’s made up, you know you’ll need a crowbar to unfreeze it.”

“You did get the specimens the good Doctor wanted though?”

“Sure.” Reno replied as he showed a full back pack. “I just had to pry Astro away to do it.”

Reno gestured behind him as Astro came down from the sky and slowly touched down with the Zero balanced on his back. He crawled out from it’s belly and laid on the taxiway as Reno and Walrus walked up. “That was a chore.” Astro said smiling. “So Daddy, what do you think?”

Walrus looked surprised. “A Japanese Zero…remarkable. There’s so few of these left in the world and none of them fly.”

“Astro wants to spend our summer break fixing it.” Reno said as he pulled Astro off the ground. “I think we might get it to museum quality at best. If we can make it fly again I’ll be shocked.”

Astro elbow butted him. “Hmph! Doubter. I should make a bet.”

“I know better than to try and bet against you. You get a sudden knack for being right.”

Astro blew on his finger tips. “It’s a gift.”

Mister Walrus walked around the Zero. “I think we have a big problem though. The cargo plane won’t carry this without the wings removed.”

Reno looked under the belly. “I think there’s like ten bolts holding the wing to the body.”

Astro ran into the cargo plane and came out with a set of socket wrenches. “No problem!”

“Wait.” Reno said smirking. “Maybe you should try oiling the bolts before you go hog wild with your awesome guns there. I mean they haven’t been loosened in almost a hundred years? I bet they’d snap.”

Astro watched as Reno ran to the Walenda and pulled a can of spray oil out of the cockpit. “Now let this stuff settle into the threads for a half an hour or so.”

[tonigirl1000]

Thanks for the story Dannavy85- love new Astroboy stories, thanks for serving your country.

[dannavy85]

Night
Cargo plane for Tokyo

Reno was sleeping on a futon nearby while Astro sat in the cockpit of the Zero looking at a few articles he found scattered around the seat. He had examined the interior for blood remains and with some peace had found no traces. He studied a faded picture with deep determination, making out a woman and child but not the man beside them. Water damage and the temperate climate had damaged it terribly. Perhaps the man was in his early to mid 20's? Probably a pilot of great experiance by the time Rendova got slammed.

he then turned to the small book in his lap. The brown leather cover was torn up and water damaged and the pages had to be gingerly pulled and turned to prevent their destruction. It was obvious most of the book was written in pencil and the lead had faded a lot over the years. Reno had woke up and was now leaning against the cockpit lip wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Whatcha got?" He asked sleepingly.

"I think it's a flight log or a diary. I can bring some of the faded lead back out of the pages but it's kinda difficult." Astro turned the book in different angles. "I think I got part of a name though...Tsugasa."

Reno scratched his head. "I wonder if we could find out more about the pilot? Maybe return this stuff to the family." Reno said as he rested his head on his crossed arms. "You gonna sit in that thing all the way home or sleep? I forgot, you really don't need sleep."

Astro smiled. "I'm anxious. I wanna fly this thing."

"You'll fly yourself into heat sink deprivation." Reno said as he grabbed a wrist. "Come on Leggo boy, get some sleep."

Next Day
New Shinjuku Middle School 17
Last day before summer break

Kenichi Kennedy walked into the gymnasium just as Astro was setting the wing down on a pair of wooden pallets. “What’s this about a summer project?”

“Like what I found? Well….he helped.”

Reno stood by the plane body smirking. “He pressured me.”

Ken looked into the cockpit and smirked. “Astro, this thing’s a mess.”

“Sheesh! You too? Come on there has to be someone with a little confidence in here. I think this is a fun project for our gang, better than trolling skate parks and kicking cans around.”

“Well…” Ken said tilting his head. “I guess it’s something…you don’t really think I like staying with my grandmother all summer long do you? After a week I try picking the old window locks to escape.”

[tonigirl1000]

Thanks for the story Dannavy85. hugs

[Dragonrider1227]

Cool story I like how you write for Astro.

[tonigirl1000]

Love how they want to work together on this project. thanks Dannavy85.

[dannavy85]

The three were suddenly surprised as Tamao came roaring through the double doors waving his arms and screaming. “Where is it! Where is it! Where is it!” He slid to a stop by the plane body and rubbed it like a possessed demon. “Uh! Where have you been all my life! A Zero fighter! The guns are still here? Look at this engine, I have got to rip this thing apart! Oh yeah, oh yeah!”

Reno leaned into Astro. “He’s not normal.”

Astro smirked back. “You think?”

Abercrombie walked in and snatched Tamao by the shirt. “Cut it out monkey, have you no dignity? Hey Astro, my Dad’s offering his auto mechanic tools, you know those big red cabinets in our garage? I guess his great Uncle or someone flew in the war.”

“Great!” Astro said. “What I’d like to do first though is try to find out about where this plane came from and who the pilot was. I got this diary I want to return.”

Tamao scratched his head. “Yeah but the government destroyed tons of military documents before the occupation, the chances of finding anything are kind of slim.”

“You could try the U.S. Government.” Ken said. “Maybe the Smithsonian?”

Astro hummed. “Well…..”

CIA HQ
Langley Virginia

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEP!” “Records Division, Al Moore.”

“How’s Wolfie?” A familiar youngster’s voice asked.

“You know better than to call my office.”

“I wouldn’t do it unless it was a dire emergency, besides you do owe me for saving your dog Al.”

“You destroyed my house doing it if I remember?”

“Your house was on fire because you left hot grease on the stove if I remember? Need I go on?” Astro swung his finger back and forth, how he loved to push little needles into people from time to time.

“So why are you calling me here Astro?”

“Well it’s not like you have the most exciting job in the world you know.” Astro said as he looked at the diary in his hands and a scrap of paper. “How big exactly is the stash of military papers from World War II?”

Al Moore winced. “So big that we’re still putting them on computer records and that will take another 50 years to complete…why?”

“Well the reason I called is I found an old Japanese Zero on Rendova Island and I’m trying to find some history on it. I can give you a few serial numbers and a part of the pilot’s name.”

Al groaned. “If it got on the computer network sure…if we have to search the paper records? Ugh….”

Astro smiled. “I know you can do it Al. The CIA can do anything….except run fast food places, you guys can’t cook.”

“Very funny. I’ll get back to you.”

[tonigirl1000]

Thanks Dannavy85- love Astroboy even more now after his compliment or was it one about the CIA, wish he was my brother. thanks and hugs, love the story even more than i already did.
PS- Thanks for your service to the country.

[dannavy85]

Astro walked back into the gym reading through the diary in his hands as the other boys set to work trying to clean the mess left behind by decades of plant growth. “Who’d you call?”

Astro smirked. “The CIA.”

“You know someone in the CIA?” Tamao chirped.

“Astro knows everyone in the CIA.” Abercrombie snorted. “He probably has a few Microsoft chips with listening devices implanted in his butt.”

Astro laughed. “Speak into the hidden mic!”

Ken opened a panel and looked inside the tail section of the Zero. “We’re going to have too rip it apart to clean out the inside Astro…it’s all trashed.”

“Well at least it’s not a modern jet.” Astro said shaking his head. “This was simple wire and grease linkage controls so there’s not much to take apart.”

Tamao walked to Astro’s side and peaked around his shoulder at the diary. “So what was the pilot like? Did he say anything about what he did?”

Astro mused over a page. “He sure complained a lot. He devoted like a 5 page insult against the food they got. The rations must have been horrible.”

“Canned and heavily salted meat usually was.” Reno said as he started removing screws from some side panels. “They mostly ate rice and fish or whatever they caught from fishing. By that time the Americans were cutting their supplies off.”

Tamao looked inside the engine compartment. “This is a rare engine too. It’s a late model Mitsubishi they made in Korea, not good quality metal wise. They usually broke down or poorly performed.”

Ken was looking at a few bullet holes. “After 1942 that didn’t matter. The Naval arm was losing so many good pilots and replacing them with unskilled rookies that they couldn’t match the American pilots.”


Astro thumbed through the pages again and stopped at another entry. “Played basketball today. Much more aggressive than baseball, Hikari and Saito were sent to the infirmary for heat stress. It’s 105 degrees surface temperature. Wonder what it’s like in Hirame.” Astro pursed his lips. “Hirame? There’s a clue.”

Reno looked back. “You should check the records at the municipal center there.”

Astro walked over and looked through one of the open access covers. “The growth in there’s gonna be a problem. I might have to remake some of the ribs by hand.”

Abercrombie looked too. “You can do that?”

“With some blueprints, templates and my finger. I didn’t have lasers put in just to give presentations you know.”

Tamao was pointing the engine out to Ken. “We should pull the engine out first before anything! I wanna play with it!”

Abercrombie snorted. “Typical nerd.”

[tonigirl1000]

Thanks love the story, hugs