CHAPTER 38
After explaining the missions to the rest of the animals, getting volunteers only took a matter of a few minutes. There was, in the end, a 100% positive response — all of the animals freely volunteered, without hesitation. This included those who had flown in on the Zephyr, namely Rovette, Drako, Tubthumper, Stripes, Marmalade, Rinky, Terri, and myself, as well as the other five of our old and new friends from the watering hole: Rory, Chumbawumba, Yukyuk, Ocero Puddleby, and Alexis.
Getting the animals on board (both figuratively and literally) was not a problem. To be sure, the larger animals had to have the Compressor/Decompressor passed over them, to temporarily reduce them to a-little-larger-than-a-breadbasket proportions, but that proved to be quick and painless, as it always is.
Understandably, the Elephants (Tubthumper and her brother Chumbawumba) and Ocero Puddleby, the Rhinoceros, as well as Rory and even Stripes, were especially excited when the Anti-Poaching campaign was discussed.
All hands (and paws, and feet) got together and agreed on a seating arrangement for the two vehicles, and then a time of departure: at first light.
For those interested in the logistics of our seating arrangements, you may or may not recall that the time & space travel vehicles have three rows of seats. The first row consists of a bucket seat for the pilot on the left, another bucket seat for the co-pilot (who has no real co-piloting duties, co-pilot being merely an honorary title — in other words, he or she simply gets to “ride shotgun”) on the right, and a console; the second and third rows are bench seats with plenty of room for three (three humans, or three animals of moderate size, that is). The seating arrangements for the Congo/Poaching trips were as follows:
Warble and Ward’s team, in Fast Forward & Back, from front seat to back: Warble, console, Ward; Tubthumper, Chumbawumba, Rory; Yukyuk, Ocero Puddleby, and an “empty” seat on which a case of Doolittles was stored.
My and Albert’s team, in the Zenia Zephyr, from front seat to back: Albert, Alexis on the console behind the directional and speed levers (she is small and doesn't take up much space), and Rinky; Drako, me, Rovette; Marmalade, Stripes, Terri (who didn’t need to ride on the tail of the craft anymore, as Tubthumper had transferred to the Fast Forward & Back with her brother Chumbawumba).
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