|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- FOREMAN ITTENER PIER--CUP 6--"FOREMAN ITTENER PIER" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Foreman Ittener Pier  ||  -------> (Cup SRfi006, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "So it's true about Ky Ly--the way she is and all?" "Ho, yeah!" Hilltop said. "You don't know the half of it. She's a little monster, she is. Tortured a guy to death for peeking on her taking a bath. Nasty kinda torture too." Hilltop said, shivering. "Yeah, she seems so bright and perky all the time--but that dark interior shows through a little, I hafta say." "You got that right." "So how'd you deal with her?" "Oh, all the Primates and her had a sort of agreement. Basically, she leaves us alone and we don't kick her ass. Oh, and also we don't interfere between her and her crew. Not that there was a crew for long after the torture/death incident--they all split." "Huh." "Yup. A real mess on that pirate ship. I know I ain't goin' back, no siree." "I don't blame you. Sucks, doesn't it, that all this happened. I liked being a Primate." "Me too, me too." "Hmm." I said, looking at the pier, just about able to make out some signs now. "Looks like we really got something here." "The cutting edge." "I hear ya." Yeah, I could see it now. Definitely an amusement pier--similar to Hay-Hengren. But I couldn't see--at least it didn't seem like the pier was connected directly to the shore. It looked like it should have been connected to a boardwalk, but it was just there by itself. "So Ferrajalt--you ready for trouble?" "Always." "Bring 'em on!" I could tell Hilltop was real nervous. So was I. I mean, there was no experience to base this on--we were somewhere well beyond the outer fringes of our usual sphere of activity. Going to a pier--a fucked-up, who-knows-what pier. "Alright," I said, "I guess we're gonna hafta land up on the pier." "Yeah?" "Yeah. So let me ease 'er up..." I increased the speed and altitude of the Waver, and soon we were on our final approach to the pier. That was when we saw that there were people there. "Life!" Hilltop said. "I see 'em." I said as I slowed for the landing, and then gently put the Waver down at the end of the pier, facing an entrance arch/fence with these words across it... FOREMAN ITTENER PIER "Who's Foreman Ittener?" Hilltop said. "The guy this pier's named after." "Hey! How do ya know it's a guy? It could be a female foreman after all." "Wouldn't that be 'forewoman' or 'foreperson'?" "Ah, don't get technical with me. When I'm right, I'm right, and I don't wanna hear any differnt." "Gotcha." I pushed up on the canopy above us--I didn't really know the control to open it--but it responded and swung open. "Okay," I said, "first thing we gotta do is see if there's a Stormbolthouse-model matter handler on this stupid thing. I have a feeling it might be our only ticket out of here--using it to weave another Stormbolthouse." "You really think? That thing is awful big." "Yeah--but think about it--all the matter it takes up would be a small chunk out of, like, a mountain." "Guess you're right." "Yeah--so check behind you--maybe there's a panel behind your seat? That's where they are on the Warhome biplanes." "Lemme see." Hilltop said, folding her seat forward. "Definitely something back here--aha!" She pulled out a matter handler, very similar in design to the Warhome ones. "Here." she said, handing the device to me. "Thanks." I said, finding a little handle, and holding the matter handler like a briefcase, which it could almost pass for. "Okay." I said. "There's no guarantee we'll ever see this Waver again, so if you have anything in it..." "Nope. Nuthin'." "Good." I said, turning toward the gate. "In that case, let's go meet our new friends." "Lead on." -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----