Down To The Wire

Everything has come together really well in the last few months, but it's coming down to the wire. We need to find a replacement for Jack, but so far we haven't had much luck. I will be flying to Metrocity soon to meet Dr. Stone for lunch and bring him back to the ranch for the big launch. All of Dr. Stone's monitoring equipment and his crew are now in place at the ranch and are ready for his arrival. The tension down in the lab/launch room has been high and nerves are raw at this point, I think everyone just wants this launch to be a success.

I am excited to take the Thunder 7 out and see just what she'll do, but I'm also a little nervous too. I guess I'll go over (for the third time) our file cabinet full of potential replacements for Jack tonight. Maybe someone will jump out at me this time, I hope. Cal has been driving the ship builders and engineers hard for the last few months to get this thing ready to go on time. I just hope he can keep up his enthusiasm throughout the mission.

We are in the home strech now and I need to make sure that everyone sees this through to the end.

A Note From The Author

I wanted to take a break from the diary, to let everyone reading this blog know about Ace Derringer, the universe it's set in and a few other details.

First off, it's the future, but it's the past. Confused? Let me explain. It's the year 2008, but it's 2008 as imagined by someone from the 1930's. As a kid, I always thought that by now (age 34) I would have a flying car and a jetpack, etc. No Luck!

So, in "Ace Derringer vs. The Shadow Men" I wanted to create a fantastical world where everything I ever thought the future should be, is there. People go to the moon on a regular basis, there are giant flying cruise ships, flying cars, aliens, creatures, rocket ships, ray guns and much, much more.
I wanted to create a swashbuckling hero who is in stark contrast to the villain. I'm tired of "grey area" or anti-hero type characters; I want the good old good vs. evil kind of action.

Actually this all started with a 5 minute short film that I did for my local film festival. It was called "Ace Derringer vs. The Shadow Men". It took me about $2,000.00 and six months to finish it. After I was 4 months into the film, I saw my first glimpse of Sky Captain. I thought, "well, fuck it! There goes that idea". My lovely wife Tracey convinced me other wise, she said "They don't own the genre, make your movie." So I did, I didn't look at anything else having to do with Sky Captain. I just went for it.

I felt that "Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow" came close but missed the mark, at least for me. I wanted more of a Fritz Lang / Frank Lloyd Wright feel, more Flash Gordon, it just didn't quite deliver. Don't get me wrong, I think Kerry Conran and team did an awesome job and I would love to work with him one day; I think we think along similar lines.

My business partners and I are trying to secure the funding we need to turn the short I did and the script I wrote with my writing partner Clark Vines, into a feature film. We are going to shoot it on HD, and hope to sell it to a major distributor. If your interested in seeing what this world looks like, go to http://www.acederringer.com and watch some of the sample videos

I hope you like what I have done, and want to see the feature once it's done.

Thanks

Joseph Fagan

I'm Not Reclusive

The press has been raking me over the coals lately. Ever since I left the hero game, they have been calling me the reclusive billionaire, comparing me to Howard Hughes. Some of the less reputable papers have stooped to calling me a coward and saying that I'm no longer patriotic.

It drives me nuts, because nothing could be further from the truth. I'm not some eccentric, obsessive-compulsive, germaphobe and I'm certainly no coward! I am a very focused man with a passion for what I'm doing. Nothing cuts me deeper than when some one questions my patriotism.

I have great concern for the war and what is going on with it. I also realize that if the Nazis were to find out what we are doing here in the bowels of my Montana home, everyone involved with this project would be in danger, that's why I have gone to great lengths to keep this project a secret.

When this project is finished, and our first mission with the Thunder 7 is complete; If the Western Alliance is willing to officially recognize the sacrifice that Jack made and the war effort still needs me, I will fight again. I do not want those goose steppers to win, I still believe in the alliance.

New Toys!

Cal and I have been concerned, ever since we went over the mission plans and have finally begun to understand just what the Thunder 7 is going to be able to do; about how to protect our selves.

Standard projectile weapons won't do us much good in a harsh alien environment in some distant galaxy. We knew we would need something more advanced. So I put out some calls to some friends and contacts in the private sector. I got a lot of the same responses, "What you want is too advanced, or Only the government has that kind of stuff." but a friend at Smith & Wesson informed me that two years ago, they had acquired the optics and laser R&D division of Bouch & Lomb. He said that they had been developing just what I was looking for.

I immediately took my air-car and flew out to Springfield Massachusetts to meet with my friend and the execs at Smith & Wesson, I left them with a large check for seed money and a deadline. That was almost nine months ago, today we got new toys!

My friend Paul, two execs and some guys from R&D came out to the ranch today with shiny metal suitcases in hand. I was excited, Cal played it cool, but I knew he was as excited as I was. When they pulled those weapons out of their cases, I was shocked. I thought they were just bringing the pistols I had asked them to make. They brought not only pistols, but these laser cannons, I had never seen anything like it, but these things did more than look good.

Cal and I got to fire them out on the back part of my property. WOW!
I incinerated an entire bolder in one shot. I don't think I have ever seen Cal that impressed by anything. We still had a lot of work to do on the ship, so I thanked my friend Paul and the guys from Smith & Wesson, gave them the remainder of the money that we agreed upon and sent them on their way.

Cal and I spent the rest of the evening blowing things up out on the back 40, it was a real cathartic experience.

Mission Plans

Cal has been in a foul mood lately. I guess because there is so many new people in the facility these days. Dr. Stone has brought all his research people and all their equipment down here, it's getting crowded. The good doctor and I went over the mission plans earlier this week, if all goes as planned we will be going some places and doing some things that no one has ever done.

I finally figured out why Cal has been so ill lately, it's his 50th birthday. Strange thing is, in all the years I and my family have known Cal, I've never noticed him celebrating his birthday. He can be a very private man, I don't think he likes his birthday very much. So, I decided to buy him a cake and a box of his favorite cigars and make a very big deal of it, I think he was surprised by it.

At first he seemed mad, but later in private, he told me that it was the first time since Jack died that he felt happy. This project has been a huge undertaking and has been extremely stressful on all of us, but especially Cal. I'll spend the next few days briefing Cal on the mission particulars, since he will be my co-pilot on this one.

He hasn't said it yet but, I know we need to find a replacement for Jack, and soon. I assume that Dr. Stone will be coming along with us on the trip to monitor the engines and all the computers that they've put on board my ship.

My ship, I haven't thought of it that way until now; but she is. I put in all the funding for her and helped design a good portion of her. All of the other ships Cal, The doctor and I have had a hand in, have served their purpose well and so will this one, but I have a good feeling about this one, she will be different.

A Long Day

I finally got a call after six months from my contact at HQ. He barely acknowledged Jack's death in the line of duty. I gave him an ear full, I told him that I and my team were done doing the W.A's. dirty work. I said, I know that there is a war to be won, and I am still a patriot, I still believe in the cause, but I won't put my crew in that kind of danger again. My hero days are over, I look forward to being just an explorer.

Speaking of exploring, Dr. Stone came today and gave a presentation to me and the team. He explained just what the hell this new engine will do. According to the doctor, not only is this thing a spaceship but, it will travel from one side of the galaxy to the other. It uses this new method of travel called folding space. I'm no physics expert but, I remember enough from the Docs physics classes in college to understand basically how it works.

The ships hull arrived in pieces yesterday; I went over it with a fine toothed comb. Comparing it to the blueprints, I noticed a few things that need to be changed. I may not be a genius like Dr. Stone, but I know aerodynamics and aircraft, she needed some finessing. Cal and I must have spent all day and most of the evening on changing the hull, correcting all the little flaws. I'm so tired right now, I can barely see straight. With such a long day, I should sleep great tonight.

What Might Have Been

We all took a much needed break over the 4th of July weekend. All the engineers and mechanics were glad to get a break from our grueling schedule, so was I. With the ranch empty and quiet, Cal and I sat around and talked about old times and all our missions with Jack. I did a good bit of cooking and drinking this weekend, Cal didn't join me, he says he's quit the stuff.

I don't blame him, Sunday morning I woke up with the worst hangover I think I ever had. No more 4th of July drinking binges for me. It was nice to just hang out with Cal and shoot the breeze, we should do it more often. Tomorrow morning it will be back to work for all of us.

It's 2:00 am I can't sleep. I'm having all kinds of crazy dreams. Some about the mission with Jack, and a few about her. I haven't thought about Valerie in a long time. I loved her more than any other woman I've ever known, sometimes I wish I hadn't let her go. What I did in Berlin wasn't very nice, I wouldn't blame her if she hated me. If I let us get too close, she could get hurt, I didn't want that.

For someone like me it's just better to be alone, then you don't have any weakness. I've got to get to sleep, 6:00 am will be here soon.

Real Work

I was able to get out of the hanger and do some much needed work on the ranch today. I'd been so down about Jack's death and so engrossed with the Thunder 7 project that I have completely forgotton that I have a ranch to take care of.

It was a beautiful day today, I rode my horse Cheyenne out to the western edge of the ranch near the Gallatin National Forest and fixed a large section of fence that had been broken for almost a year now. I stood and looked at the Bitterroot Mountains for a while before I headed back to the house. It was nice to be on a horse, I hadn't ridden in a while.

The sun was setting as I made my way back to the house, it was breath taking. Montana is a wonderful place to grow-up. I spent millions of my personal wealth restoring and modernizing my childhood home. Not to mention building the secret state of the art hanger and base of operations underneath my house.

Sitting there on the back of my horse, I felt somewhat alone. Both my parents we're gone and now Jack was gone, but I still have Cal.

Progress!

We tested the new engines for the first time today. WOW! The hanger under the ranch was full of heat and fumes when this thing ignited. I have never seen anything like it, Cal was really impressed too.

The good doctor is a real genius. I actually can't wait to fly this thing, it's got me excited about flying again. I wish Jack could have been here to see it.

We should get the final designs for the cockpit and other interiors today. If the inside looks as slick as the design for the outside of this thing, they'll have to pry me out with a crowbar.

What Went Wrong?

I blame my self for what happened. We should not have taken a mission on such short notice, we didn't have enough time for a proper shakedown of the ships new features.

The papers want to call me a hero, but my co-pilot and long time friend is dead because I wasn't fast enough, wasn't smart enough. War or no war, I'm through with these damn missions.

Dr. Stone called yesterday, he is sending some modified designs for the Thunder 7's new experimental engines. He never mentioned Jack, I wonder if he even knows; he's been so busy with the redesign and all. The redesign, the damn redesign has set us back by six months. I haven't even flown in weeks since the mission, I just don't want to.

The Thunder 7 project was on track until Dr. Stone got this new design assistant who insisted that the whole project was going in the wrong direction and needed to be redesigned. I didn't want to take such a huge set back, but I had a gut feeling this assistant of his was right. Why is he being so secretive about this new assistant, why can't I meet this guy? Just another one of Stone's many quirks I guess.

I keep playing the whole thing over and over in my mind, if I had just run back there and grabbed Jack before the ship exploded, or if I had known that the seperation would happen so quickly. I don't know, I can't think about it anymore tonight. I just need to concentrait on the Thunder 7 and getting it finished.

Hero for Hire

I got the breif today from my contact at Western Alliance HQ. Looks like the Nazi's are trying again to get a craft into space. They want me and Jack to go stop it. I haven't talked to Jack yet but, I think we should take this assignment. The Nazis want to go into space for only one reason. . .to rule it. I feel sure that Jack will want to go on this mission and kick some nazi butt as bad as I do.

The Thunder Six will need to be put through a good check of all systems and the new seperation feature before we embark on this little adventure the government wants us to go on. She has taken quite a few beatings on the last four missions, and I want to be prepared.

Cal dosen't know it yet but, he will be setting this one out. I need him to stay here at the ranch and oversee the begining of construction on the Thunder 7. This ship will be unlike any of the other craft we have built together. The Thunders 1-5 were basically just souped up jet fighters, but the Thunder 7 was designed to do alot more.

I need to get some sleep tomorrow will be a long day.