3854/Tidepool: Old wings still beat air

Tidepool: Old wings still beat air
Date of Scene:	11 February 2018
Location:	Natasha Cranston's office, Cranston Multinational HQ, New York
Synopsis:	Lady Blackhawk takes to the skies and reaches out to her friends on the airshow circuits - people who know how to fly a cold stick - to enlist them into helping patch up CMS' transport problems, improving its ability to keep the commerce flowing.
Cast of Characters:	Shadow, Lady Blackhawk, Sarah Osborn
Tinyplot:	Tidepool

---

Shadow has posed:
    At the best of times, Cranston Multinational's corporate headquarters is a hive of activity -- the nerve center of an massive shipping network reaching across the globe. Today, with the internet down, it's even /worse/ -- the smooth choreography of people knowing exactly what they needed to do is gone, replaced by a frantic buzz of activity and controlled panic.

    Thankfully, CMS is *old*, and even if most of its current employees don't remember, the company does, its memory reams and reams of old documents and archived procedures no living soul remembered, but still there. Piece by piece, the behemoth is starting to move again, if slower than normal.

    In her office, Natasha takes a minute between phone calls - actual land line calls - to collect her thoughts and re-arrange directives. This much needs to be shipped; this is how much tonnage they can rely on. What to prioritize, what will have to wait, which customers will need to be appeased, what others she can appeal to... It's going to be bad. But as long as she has /anything/ to say about it, it's going to be survivable.

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    Miss Cranston's next appointment arrives without even knocking, although to Jesse's credit there's a rather loud argument accompanying the appointment. Zinda Blake arrives wearing a flight suit and antique leather jacket, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and aviators perched atop her head.

    "I'm sorry, Miss Blake, but Miss Cranston is -incredibly-..."

    Zinda stops mid-stride, and Jesse almost runs into her. "No YOU listen, honey. Ah'm here to give Miss Cranston a solution to all this logistical mess. So do I have an appointment or am Ah gonna hafta punch you?"

    And about that time they're through the door and halfway into Miss Cranston's office.

Shadow has posed:
    The first thing Zinda notices is that wow, Natasha /can/ in fact look disheveled. The signs are subtle, but there's a few hints where makeup has gotten dislodged, a suit that's just a bit more rumpled than normal, and a hint of strain around the eyes she's /never/ going to admit to.

    "... It's all right, Jesse. I can spare a few minutes to hear her out," she reassures her secretary while at the same time flashing Zinda a look that she last remembers seeing on the Blackhawks' squadron leader when she proposed a plan. It's a look that manages to convey "I'll hear you out, but I'm having a bad time right now so this had better be good..."

    She motions to one of the chairs. "Have a seat. I'm afraid I can't offer coffee right now, they're visiting hospitals to get lists of what supplies are essential and which can wait..."

Sarah Osborn has posed:
OK, so Sarah was busy working on redesigning and rebuilding here gear for a while and missed the iunternet going down...as hard as it is to believe. She has spent the last couple of days researching, and has decided to offer her assistance. The question is WHERE. She has decided to start at a logistics firm, because right now it is the transport of goods that is the problem.

Sarah sees the first woman barge in, but decides to start with the secretary, "Excuse me, I am Sarah Osborn, from Oscorp. I think I have a possible solution to the communications problem, but it needs to be properly tested to ensure it works...and if it does then it will need to be distributed."

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    Zinda strides briskly into the room, settling heavily into the offered chair while remaining perched on the edge. She spares no further attention for Jesse, that's a gate she's already crossed. No sense in looking back.

    "Ah know you ain't got much time these days, so Ah'll make this quick. Ah'm gonna activate the air show network. Bunch of stick-and-rudder jockeys who remember how to navigate with map and compass, and have access to analog aircraft." She lets that sink in for a moment before she continues. "It ain't modern jets, but these are good ol' birds that still run, are still reliable, and can still carry cargo."

    "Now there's only one problem. These boys are scattered all around and not everybody knows to turn on old radios and telegraphs. So I've got a P-51 all gassed up and ready at the airfield so's Ah can go visiting. Ah'm just asking *permission* from the CEO who's grounded all planes."

    Zinda eases back into her chair a bit, then grins. "Ah'm gonna take off anyway, but it's polite for us executive-types to share our plans."

Shadow has posed:
    Tired as she is -- and certainly more tired than she lets on, even if she's less tired than she should be -- it takes Natasha a moment to grasp what Zinda is offering, but then it sinks in. "That... Would be more than welcome," she replies, finally managing a smile. "I'll give David over at Blackhawk Air a call and let him know to have everything ready for you by the time you get to the airfield. When you reach people, make sure he gets their frequencies and we'll do what we can to tie them into the network."

    Behind her eyes, numbers spin and adjust as she factors in new estimates, adjust priorities. "... The majority of what they'll likely be hauling initially will be medical supplies. They're relatively light and highly perishable. And let them know that when this crisis is over, their assistance will not be forgotten. A Cranston pays her debts. Always."

Shadow has posed:
    Meanwhile, back on the ground floor the receptionist is looking somewhat suspiciously at Sarah /and/ her Oscorp badge. "... If this is yet another attempt by Oscorp to acquire parts of Cranston Multinational I'm authorized by Miss Cranston to tell you we are not interested and will not be interested no matter what the offer."

Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah sighs and produces a group of small plug-in devices an a router, "Try these connectors and this router. I think they will work without interferance."

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    Zinda smiles at the response, reaching into a jacket pocket for a flip notebook and a ballpoint. She scribbles a few numbers on it and tears off the paper, handing it to Natasha. "That's the frequency everybody's gonna be usin', Sis." Notebook back into her pocket, Zinda rises.

    "After Ah make the rounds, Ah'm gonna head out to Blackhawk Island and see how the ol' radio tower's doin'. It's long range shortwave, so should be able to cover a good part of the East Coast. Or at least it did back in the day."

Shadow has posed:
    "I'm sorry, miss Osborn, but right now we're not allowed to bring in /any/ electronic equipment from outside," the receptionist responds, then points at a set of lockers. "We're evern required to leave smart phones here before we go inside just in case those hooligans from the Tide can bridge them somehow..."

Shadow has posed:
     Upstairs, Natasha smiles at Zinda, looking quite a bit younger than she did when the woman walked in. "Thank you. That would help a great deal. If any of the air field operators give you a hard time about refueling, give them my number. I'll talk them around..."

Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah explains, "I am pretty sure it does not work that way. I think they are attacking the hardware directly, not the software. That is what I need to test. If I am right, it is a question of resonances. Please, could you send a request to allow a test to your boss? If I do have the solution, but can not get it to those who need it, it would be bad for everyone."

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    Zinda returns the smile, nodding knowingly. "Oh, she oughta' be fueled up and ready by now, actually. Ah did get some crap about it, but they came around eventually." And as she rises the jacket parts, showing a couple of shoulder holsters underneath. "And y'all might wanna take stock in 12-year scotch. That's sorta the gold standard with these boys." She pauses, then turns towards the door. "Gotta lotta miles to log today, but Ah'll send you names, cities, and planes as Ah collect 'em."

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha smiles. "I'll see what I can arrange. In the interim, I'll see about shaking loose a few more employees to man the radios to keep in touch with you and yours."

    She rises and touches two fingers to her temple before waving them at Zinda. "Godspeed and safe skies, Lady Blackhawk."