Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (19 page)

Mike
was exuberant. "Man! That was
soooo
cool!"

"No
doubt!" added Brian, bouncing as he walked.

Jack
grinned wildly, "Like the ultimate video game! Can you imagine
the
fortune you could make with that back on earth!?"

Paul
shook his head in disbelief, "Simply amazing..." The four
men
and
Shepherd strode down the corridor headed for the air tubes, acting a
little like overgrown juveniles.

"Well,
I know where we're gonna' spend our spare time..." said
Jack,
as he pushed the button on the wall to summon an air car.

"Wanna'
come back after we eat?"

"Sure,
Mike, don't see why not!"

An
air car, partly full, hissed to a stop and they piled in, Fritz
lay
across Jack and Brian. It was dinner time. The tube system and
corridors were busy with passengers headed for restaurants in
different sections of the ship.

The
pilots disembarked the air car at the exit for the Ecosphere
Lounge
and strolled down the carpeted ramp. A tall gangly waitress who
recognized the pilots met them on the balcony. "Hello, boys,
the Captain left a message, he wants you to meet him in the Nova
Restaurant on level five." She explained how to get there, they
thanked her and departed.

■ ■ ■

The
Nova Restaurant was rather elegant, and a formally dressed
maitre'd
escorted the pilots to the Captain's table. The maitre'd looked
disdainfully at Fritz as they made their way through the restaurant,
wondering how the patrons of his fine establishment were going to
react to such a hairy beast.

Two
men were already seated and involved in a cheerful conversation
with
the Captain. "Aahhh, gentlemen, good of you to come. I took the
liberty of ordering for you, I hope you don't mind. You'll find the
food here is beyond compare." Handshakes were exchanged across
the table as the men found their seats and were introduced to those
already present; Professor Walter Edgars and his nephew Derrik
Brighton. Professor Edgars, a noted British historian, spent over
fourteen years teaching history and anthropology at Cambridge
University. His truly human appearance and British identity, gray
tweed jacket, pipe, salt and pepper hair, aristocratic accent,
revealed nothing of his true off-world origin.

As
a historian and anthropologist widely recognized through more
galaxies than he could remember, he often spent time on a planet
doing research. He found a school of higher learning was often the
best place. Determined to track not only the history and ancestry of
individual planets, but of entire galaxies, he discovered the
migration and colonization of solar systems by early explorers,
widespread. In his one hundred ninety-odd years of research, he
found reason to believe almost all life in the universe was linked
with a common origin. He wanted to find that origin, the place
Universal
Historians
referred to as
Base
Alpha
.
Though it was a hotly disputed theory, more historians believed it
than not.

Born
to Professor Edgars' late wife's sister, Derrik Brighton was
indeed,
an earthling. In an attempt to pull himself above his rather dull
middle-income upbringing, Derrik joined Great Britain's, Royal Air
Force. Standing a slender six-foot even, with ginger hair and
trimmed handlebar mustache, Derrik did fairly well with the ladies.
He enjoyed the added notoriety and attention that a RAF uniform
bought with it and was deeply saddened when discharged after being
wounded in combat.

First
Lieutenant Derrik Brighton was flying a close ground support mission
over the Falkland Islands in a Harrier Jump Jet, when it was struck
by ground fire. Wounded and with a heavily damaged, smoking
aircraft, he refused to abort his mission and completed his run.
Determined to return the crippled Harrier back to safety, Brighton
was forced to ditch in the ocean, just short of his carrier when the
aircraft's leaking fuel tanks ran dry. For his heroism, he was
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and discharged honorably for
medical reasons. Unstimulated and bored as a civilian pilot, Derrik
jumped at the chance for the excitement of interstellar travel when
his uncle revealed his true identity.

Personally,
Derrik was a neat and meticulous person, brought up
in
the strict `stiff upper lip' style of English tradition. His
gray-green eyes were expressive and mischievous. At a late
forty-something, his square jaw and chiseled features had lost none
of their appeal, in fact, had probably improved with age. His short
wavy ginger hair and handlebar mustache conjured images of the
dashing young British pilots of WWII. Blessed with a sense of humor,
although dry and occasionally a bit macabre, his personal belief was
that life itself was a challenge. Challenges entailed risks and
without risks, life would not be worth continuing, as man only
endures to conquer more challenges.

Jack,
Pappy, Brian and Mike found the Professor fascinating and
Derrik
very likeable. In the middle of dinner, Maria appeared, drink in
hand and plopped into a chair at the table, waving a sloppy hello.
All conversation halted.

"You're
drunk," said Jack with quiet distaste.

Maria
shook her head slowly, "Nnooo noo..."

"Completely
snockered, old boy," offered the Professor with a wave
of
his pipe.

"So-oo
I'm a little sstwizzled, showat?" She brushed lightly at some
hair
hanging in her eyes.

"A
little swizzled?" Derrik stroked one end of his long mustache,
"Oh
I say girl... you're totally stinko!"

"Iamnot,"
she countered defiantly.

Jack
rose from his seat. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I
think
I'll escort our little lush to quarters and put her to bed."
There was a general wave of acceptance to this idea, as the best
solution to preventing an embarrassing public scene.

Derrik
rose to his feet as well, stretching his lean, tailored, six-
foot
frame. "Mind if I tag along? Love to give m'legs a bit of a
stretch."

Jack
shrugged, "Sure, c'mon." Jack and Derrik lifted Maria from
her
chair
and supported her by her elbows. "We'll be back soon, save us
some dessert." Jack called Fritz as he and Derrik guided Maria
through the crowded restaurant.

The
open corridor was both refreshing and a relief. Jack thought
Maria
would surely do something unpredictable before they could leave the
restaurant, but this was not the case.

Fritz
trailed the trio slowly down the hallway, taking time for an
occasional
short study of a passing offworlder. Although he was becoming more
accustomed to their bizarre appearances, there were still many he
felt compelled to stare at.

Derrik
broke the silence as they walked down the hall, "Uncle tells
me,
you gents are forming some sort of squadron. Is that true?"

"Well
not exactly, I mean there really isn't anything to fly other
than
the shuttles..." Jack thought a minute, "unless we find a
way to acquire our own craft somehow."

Derrik
shook his head, "Don't have the foggiest how you could do
that...
but it seems
you
have an idea."

"Nothing
solid yet, but having our own ship seems to be the only way
to
get back home with any expedience."

"Home?
Why would you want to go back? The future and the grand
adventure
lie out here!" The Englishman made a wide gesture with his arm.

"Well
that may be true, but unlike you, the rest of us had no choice
in
departure... which has a tendency to leave lots of loose ends."

Derrik
nodded slowly, "Yes, quite. They can be a beastly nuisance on
the
conscience"

"I
think the biggest thing is, knowing there are people we care
about
back there, who think we're dead and are mourning us. I want to go
back and tell them not to worry, to tell them I'm still alive and
love them... maybe to give them the option to leave with us if they
want... if that's what
we
decide. We want the
option
to be able to decide for ourselves when and where we come and go."

Derrik
nodded his understanding, Jack was talking about the freedom
of
deciding one's own fate, something man had strived for since the
beginning of time. "Listen, Jack old boy, would you consider an
addition to your group? I've no real spot yet, and it seems you've
the right idea."

They
had arrived at Jack's quarters and Jack punched the code in on
the
door's keypad. The pad beeped merrily at him and the door swished
quietly open. Jack scooped Maria up off her feet and carried her
through the living area to the bedroom. Fritz followed. Jack nodded
towards the bar, "Fix yourself a drink if you like, I'll be out
in a minute." Derrik turned and headed towards the bar and Jack
entered the bedroom. Maria was already asleep in his arms. He knelt
on the bed and laid her gently down, pulling a pillow under her
head. Realizing she would probably be uncomfortable, he decided to
undress her. Struggling with her limp body, he stripped off her
clothes and covered her nude form with the sheets and a blanket.

Jack
stared at Maria's sleeping face. How is it, he wondered, that
such
a beautiful woman, with so innocent a face, could be such a royal
pain in the ass? And why was he so attracted to this pain in the
ass?

Fritz
sat patiently to one side and watched intently, he knew what
would
come next. Jack turned to Fritz and playfully tousled his head with
one hand. "You stay here, kiddo. Keep an eye on her, Ok? I
promise, I'll bring back some good stuff from the restaurant."
The Shepherd nuzzled Jack's hand, then climbed onto the bed. He
curled up at Maria's feet and eyed his partner. "Good boy..."
said Jack, dimming the lights, "I'll be back later."

Derrik
rose from the settee in the living area as Jack emerged
from
the darkened bedroom. "Will she be alright alone?"

"Sure,"
said Jack, "she's asleep. Besides, Fritz will keep an eye
on
her, he's had plenty of practice."

"We're
off then?"

"Yep!
Let's go get some dessert, before it's all gone!"

"Right!"
The young Englishman up-ended his drink and the liquor
slid
down his throat, emptying the glass.

"Look,
Derrik," said Steele, as the two men strolled down the
corridor,
"if you want to be part of our group it's Ok with me, but we're
going to do what's best for the group. All for one and one for
all... if you know what I mean..."

"Quite."

"Well,
if you can live with that, then the more the merrier. I'll
talk
to the Captain and see if we can get you assigned to shuttle duty
too. That'll get you quarters down by us."

"Sounds
smashing!" said Derrik. The two pilots shook on it and
jogged
the rest of the way back to the restaurant.

Dessert
was a heavenly fruit and whipped cream conglomerate, laced
with
liquor and Jack ate more than he should have. Pleasantly stuffed and
mildly inebriated, the pilots, Captain and Professor Edgars sat
casually around the table exchanging jokes and stories as the
restaurant slowly emptied. Jack felt warm and at home. Gantarro,
approved the idea of adding Derrik to the list of new shuttle pilots
with a grin and a toast.

No
longer in duty uniform but casual evening attire, Raulya and
Myomerr
entered the restaurant and made their way to the table. Raulya
sauntered over to Jack and slid into his lap. Myomerr sat in an
empty chair next to Pappy and snuggled against him. The heavy scent
of exotic perfume surrounded the table and made Jack's head swim. He
could feel his pulse quicken and felt a profound sexual urgency. He
idly wondered if it had the same effect on anyone else. Raulya
nuzzled Steele's ear, sending a chill up his spine. "Miss me?"
she purred. He nodded, confused as to what to do next.