Thunderfunk the Superchicken - Pt 6

6. Things short when sleepy

Straw skulked around the ship, looking inconspicuous whenever anyone else showed their faces around the corridors, but otherwise creeping around in a very suspicious manner. Or he tried to. It was hard to skulk, he found, while carrying the General’s luggage, as well as his own meagre belongings. This big bag was heavy. He glanced down at the suitcase in his left hand and realised that it was his own luggage that was ridiculously oversized. It also didn’t help that the corridors in a ship are rather tight in general. Reaching the General’s quarters he placed his luggage inside and moved across the hall to his own room. Placing his luggage on the bed, he looked around the room, at what little there was to see. It was a small room, with only space for a small bed and a cramped desk. If the desk were any bigger it would probably hit the door, mused Straw. Well, on to business.
The plan was for Thunderfunk, aka General Takanoka, to gather as much information as he could from the Captain of the vessel. Meanwhile, through whatever means he thought necessary, Straw was to find out all he could from the sailors and other sources as he found them. Looking at the mirror hanging on the back of the door, Straw straightened out his uniform, making it look properly dishevelled. If there was one thing he did not want, it was to have a clean and neat uniform when the rest of the crew looked as though they had actually been wearing theirs. With a final tug at his pants, he nodded satisfactorily and headed out in the general direction of the engine room.
“So, tell me General Takanoka, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Captain Sato leaned back in his chair and regarded the large chicken across from him. A cup of tea sat in front of each of them, the steam rising softly into the air.
General Takanoka did not reply at first. Instead, he slowly and deliberately took a sip of his tea. Inwardly he sighed. He hated tea as much as he hated anything. Outwardly, he merely grimaced in a sign of displeasure at the low quality product he had been served, as though he were a tea connoisseur. Immediately Captain Sato was on the defensive. It was not his fault that the tea wasn’t very good. The tea growers had gone on strike, and not a single leaf had been collected until it was almost too late. Now it was all he had to serve. Takanoka grinned, again to himself. He did a great deal of things to himself without ever showing it on the outside. “I have come to oversee this entire operation. And as such, I will need to be brought up to speed with what you have done so far, and the preparations that have been made.”
Captain Sato stiffened in his chair. This was tantamount to a demotion. Probably because he had broken the heart of General Toyama’s daughter. That was a mistake he never should have made.
“I know what you are thinking,” said Takanoka calmly, setting aside his tea, “but you are incorrect. Think of this as not a demotion, but rather as a final test for a very big promotion. If you perform well, then perhaps I will be persuaded to make a few calls on your behalf.” Thunderfunk enjoyed the barely contained hope and glee that ran across Sato’s face. “Now,” he continued, “show me your exact orders, so that I may know how closely you have followed them.”
With a quick salute, Sato hurried to his safe where he retrieved the sailing orders. He handed them over to Thunderfunk, failing to suppress a giggle from escaping the corners of his mouth. Apparently a promotion was eagerly awaited by this particular officer. Boy was he going to feel dumb when he realised that he had been duped by a fowl. But not a common fowl. A much more than common fowl.
As he read the orders, Thunder’s eyebrows raised. “Interesting,” he muttered to himself. “Very interesting.” Of course, what it sounded like was “Mmmff. Mftgtf ftgsefgt.”
Captain Sato raised an eyebrow. Where had the general found that cookie? How very odd.