Butler- Launched Skyborne

When a dwarf finds himself unnerved to this extent, one of two
things is likely to happen: one, the dwarf will unhook his jaw and
attempt to eat its way out of trouble. This option was not available to
Cruik because of his suit’s hood. And two: the terrified dwarf will trim
the weight. Trimming the weight is an aviators’ trick, which involves
jettisoning as much unnecessary cargo as possible to keep the ship in
the air. Dwarfs are capable of shedding up to a third of their body
weight in less than five seconds. This is obviously a last resort and can
only be performed once a decade or so. It involves a rapid expulsion of
loose-layered runny fat, ingested mining dirt, and gases through what
dwarf mommies politely refer to as the nether tunnel.
Trimming the weight is mostly an automatic response and will be
engaged when the heart rate nudges past two hundred beats per
minute, which happened to Cruik the moment Butler enquired whether
Cruik had tried to shoot his sister. At that moment, Cruik more or less
lost control of his bodily functions and had just time to scream “No
brain biting!” before his body decided to trim the weight and use the
resulting propulsion to get the heck out of there.
Of course, Butler was not aware of these biological details. All he
knew was that he was suddenly flying backward, up high through the
air, holding on to a jet-powered dwarf.
Not again, he thought, possibly the only human who would have this
thought in this situation.
Butler saw Juliet shrinking into the distance, her mouth a shocked
dark circle. And to Juliet it seemed as though her brother had suddenly
developed the power of flight while wrestling a dwarf clad in a shiny
hooded leotard.
I’ll worry about Juliet worrying about me later, thought Butler,
trying not to think about the glossy, bubbled stream pushing them
farther into the sky and closer to whatever craft they were suspended
from. Look out below.
Butler had a more urgent problem than Juliet worrying about him,
which he realized upon jamming Cruik’s helmet onto his own head. He
and Cruik were coming up on the gyro, fast with no control over their
approach. All Cruik could do was yell something about his brain, so it
was up to Butler to see them through this alive. Altitude wasn’t the
problem. They weren’t high enough to sustain any real damage,
especially with a watery mattress below. The problem was the gyro’s
rotor blade, which would slice them both into fine strips if they passed
through it, then doubtless the gyrocopter would explode and incinerate
the slices. The engine was whisper quiet, but a couple of bodies
passing through the blade would soon blow the mufflers.
My last act on Earth could be to expose the Fairy People, and there
is nothing I can do to prevent it.
Up they went, whooshing backward, wind snagging their clothes,
chilling their skin. The dwarf’s eyes were wide and rolling, and his
flesh hung in loose flaps.
He was chubby before. I’m sure of it.
The gyro blade was feet away as they whiplashed over the top of the
craft and hung suspended for a nanosecond as Cruik finally ran out of
nether-tunnel steam.
“Nice timing,” snarled Butler, then down they went directly toward
the rotors.
Still, thought Butler. Killed saving my sister from a murderous
dwarf. It could be worse.
At the last possible moment, the gyro’s rotor swiveled ninety
degrees, tilting the craft dramatically, allowing Butler and Cruik to slot
into it neatly on the leeward side.
Butler barely had a moment to thank his lucky stars when he was
thrust into yet another perilous situation.

- The Atlantis Complex, Chapter 6