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Daedalus' New Wings

Written by Kerryn Offord

Magdeburg, September, 1634

Tracy Kubiak stared at the shop window, not really seeing anything. She was in Magdeburg to inspect the local division of her company, Grantville Canvas and Outdoor, but she was finding it hard to stay motivated. Maybe it was just because she'd turned thirty, but she'd been feeling old and tired lately. What she needed was a new project. Something she could really get her teeth into. Something that would make her feel young and alive again.

"Free at last. Kids are in school and we can rumble." Belle, her cousin, gripped Tracy's arm. "Where do you want to go first?"

Tracy shrugged in disinterest.

"I know, let's check out the progress of the opera house. It's on the way to the navy yard."

Tracy let Belle drag her along. She wasn't interested in the opera house, but her adopted daughter back in Grantville might like to hear an eye-witness report on progress.

Tracy heard the drone of an aircraft flying overhead, looked up and sighed. She'd never felt more alive than when she was skydiving. Unfortunately, there was no way she could get into the air. The Air Force was running Belles and Gustavs. Neither of which was suitable for skydiving. The only aircraft even approaching suitable was Trans European Airlines' "Monster", but they only had the one aircraft and it was either flying the airline's commercial routes or in for maintenance.

Tracy felt Belle stop and looked down to see why. They'd come up to the fence surrounding the work site. "What the hell?"

"Yes, I know. The foundations were laid weeks ago and they haven't done anything since then. Bitty's already had a fight with Carl about the lack of progress. "

Tracy wasn't interested in whatever Bitty Matowski had been complaining about. She only had eyes for the two kite balloons hanging in the sky. She started toward them.

 "Hey, Tracy, where do you think you're going?" Belle called as she hastened to catch up.

"Hold it. You can't go in there, Tracy." Carl Schockley, one of the directors of Kelly Construction, and an old friend, was holding her arm.

"Those balloons . . ."

"Romulus and Remus?"

"Is that what you call them?" Carl nodded and shrugged.

What was in a name? Tracy wanted answers to more important questions. "How high can they fly?"

"How high do you want them to go?"

"High enough to skydive from?"

"They can go high enough. That's not a problem. The problem is the tether. That's going to limit you to about a thousand feet. With high performance chutes you might get up to five seconds of free-fall. What kind of chute do you have?"

"I don't have one yet. But I can make one."

"How about making two?"

"You want to skydive, too?"

"Sure," Carl said.

"Hold it. You're not planning on parachuting from one of those balloons are you?" Belle demanded.

Tracy nodded. "I sure am."

"I thought you gave up parachuting when you were pregnant with Justin."

"I gave up sports parachuting, but I had to do some jumps with the army to maintain my jump qualification."

"Still, you had Terrie in early 2000. You wouldn't have been jumping when you were pregnant, so that makes it at least four years since you last jumped."

"It's like riding a bicycle, Belle. You don't forget the skills that quickly."

"But to do it for the first time with a homemade parachute . . ."

Tracy glared at her cousin. "You make it sound like I don't know how to make a parachute. I was a rigger with the regular army for four years and the National Guard for another four. I know how to sew a parachute. I didn't just pack them, I maintained them. All I need is enough of the right kind of fabric."

"Nobody's making any nylon."

"They might not be making nylon, but there's plenty of silk around, and silk is what they used before they had nylon."

"I don't know what Ted's going to say."

Tracy couldn't help the grin. "He'll probably want me to make one for him, Belle."

****

"A parachute? To jump off a balloon? You can't be serious?" Ted sounded upset, although Tracy couldn't imagine why.

She gave him her best glare. This was not the supportive response she'd been expecting. "I want to experience free-fall again and Carl said I can use one of his company's balloons,"

"But . . ."

"But?" Tracy waited for Ted to continue. He didn't, slumping into silence instead. "So it's agreed? I make some parachutes and we all jump from the balloons."

"We?" Ted asked.

"Sure. You, me, and Carl."

October 1634, Grantville

Ted stood at the door to the basement work room and watched his wife as she struggled with the clouds of fabric. She'd already prototyped a proof of concept scale model; now she was working on a full-size linen parachute. It would be as functional as a silk parachute, but weigh a lot more. However, it would have the benefit of being considerably cheaper. Tracy, even though she no longer had to count the pennies, didn't believe in being unnecessarily extravagant.

"I'll take Justin."

Ted turned and passed his sleeping son to Richelle, their adopted daughter. "Thanks. I'd better drag Tracy away from her machine or she'll be impossible tomorrow.

"Tracy, do ...