Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (51 page)

"It
is
fun,
isn't
it?" It was a rhetorical question. "But it can get
serious,"
explained Derrik, "especially if we meet some undesirables out
there...”

"Y'know,"
interrupted Brian, "I'm really not worried about that." He
was
surprised, but the possibility of that only made it more exciting.
"But," he added, deciding to come clean, "I could use
some practice on landing."

"Why?"

"Whaddya'
mean, why? Didn't you see me touch down? There were sparks
everywhere,
I bounced pretty hard," said Brian, unzipping his suit as they
walked.

"So?
So did I. You landed just fine. The sparks are from the skid
plates
on the bottom of the landing feet, they're supposed to do that, you
wanker..."

Brian
smiled sheepishly. "Oh."

Laughing,
Derrik slapped Brian in the shoulder with his flight
gloves
repeatedly. "Wanker, sod, twit..."

Laughing,
they entered the ready room through the double doors and
sat
down with Mike and Paul, who had already shed their flight gear.

FREEDOM,
GENESIS GATE - BAHIA SYSTEM:
JOKERS
& GUNSLINGERS

The
comm buzzed once and Jack was awake. "Yes?"

"Walt
here, Captain. We're about twenty five minutes from exiting
the
Genesis Gate."

"Thanks,
Walt, I'll be right up." He jumped out of bed and strolled
into
the bathroom, whistling. The constant gentle rumbling of the ship in
motion, made sleep soothing and deep. After a shower and a clean
uniform, Jack felt fresh and energized. He was also excited about
the prospect of flying a patrol. He could imagine seeing the expanse
of space through the cockpit perspex, uninhibited by steel or view
screens. The view from the glass of the observation deck was
gratifying, but somehow he couldn't believe it would compare to the
unhindered view from a fighter's cockpit.

Jack
checked his watch after he pinned his wings on his tunic. "Are
you
ready to go Fritzer?"

"Rrright!"
came the gruff reply. He was eager to display his new
found
talents.

"Now
remember," coached Jack, "no talking until I give you the
signal,
Ok? " The Shepherd nodded his compliance and the two stepped
out into the corridor and headed for the bridge.

As
expected, the pilots were hanging out on the bridge to watch the
rather
exceptional spectacle of leaving a Genesis Gate. At a distance, a
Gate just looked like four small points of light in a square with a
touch of color in the middle. Drawing closer, it became obvious the
expanse between the markers was tremendous, and the color was
actually a giant, slowly spinning swirl of brilliant translucent
colors. As a ship entered, the swirl enlarged, reaching out and
swallowing the ship into what appeared to be a starless tunnel of
soft, shimmering, silver silk. Entering was beautiful, but exiting
was breathtaking. Surrounded by shimmering silver, the horizon
gradually filled with clouds of undulating, effervescent color. The
clouds would grow as the ship approached, and after a time, it would
be totally immersed in the hazy, wafting colors. Suddenly the colors
would intensify, exploding outwards like a giant Roman candle,
spilling the ship back into the star filled blackness. It was better
than any Fourth of July fireworks show in the world.

Being
a substantial distance behind the Princess Hedonist, the crew of the
Freedom
had the best possible view. The Gate held itself open as the first
ship passed through, showing a stunning array of brilliant colors
with an expanse of black, star flecked sky, visible in the middle.
Random clouds of color drifted across the opening. Then in an
instant, they were out and it was gone.

Jack
and Fritz stepped past the mesmerized pilots and down the
short
steps to the pit and his command chair.

"Never
get tired of seeing that..." commented the Professor with a
wave
of his pipe. "Well, Jack," he added, "time for a dash
of sleep. I return the bridge to you, Captain."

"Thank
you, my good man," responded Jack, bowing stiffly. They
laughed
as Walt turned to leave.

"Oh
wait! I almost forgot." He turned to Brian who was standing
just
behind
him at Raulya's console with the other pilots. "Remember that
joke you used to tell about the dog and the Siamese cat?"

"Yeah..."
said Brian, unsure where this was going, "what about it?"

"I
don't know why, but it just came to me earlier and it made me
think
of this other joke..." Fritz jumped up onto Jack's command
chair and wagged his tail. He was paying close attention.

Walt
paused on the stairs. "So tell it..." Everyone on the
bridge
was
listening closely.

"Well,"
began Jack, "this guy walks into a bar with a dog at his side
and
they both take a seat at the bar.
Hey!
Says the bartender,
no
dogs in my bar.
So the guy says,
but
this is the smartest dog in the world!
The bartender says,
oh
yeah? Prove it and I'll give you both a free beer!
So the guy asks the dog what's on top of a house and the dog says
roof!
So?
Says the bartender. Then the guy asks the dog to describe sandpaper
and the dog says
rough!
That
doesn't prove a thing,
grumbles the bartender..."

"So?"
said Paul, impatiently.

"So,"
continued Jack, "the guy gets the dog to do a bunch of other
stuff,
none of which impress the bartender. So finally, the guy pulls out a
twenty dollar bill and hands it to the dog, telling him to go across
the street and get a pack of cigarettes.
He'll
have the right brand and the right change,
brags the guy. Twenty minutes goes by and the dog hasn't returned,
so the guy and the bartender go outside to see what might have
happened. They find the dog in the back seat of the guy's
convertible, screwing the local hooker.
What
are you doing?
Yells the guy,
you
never did that before!
and the dog says..." Jack motioned to Fritz.

"I
never had twenty bucks before..."
said Fritz, annunciating slowly.

There
was a smattering of laughter as everyone looked from Jack to
Fritz
then again back and forth in obvious confusion. Jack and Maria, who
was standing on the other side of Raulya's console, laughed the
hardest, but not at the joke. The confused expressions of everyone
on the bridge was almost too funny to stand. Jack gripped his sides.
Fritz
stood on Jack's command chair facing backwards, with his front
paws
clutching the headrest, tail whipping from side to side. He looked
from Jack, to the pilots and back, his tongue lolling casually out
the side of his mouth. This was great fun.

"How'd
you do that Jack?" asked Brian, shifting his eyes from man
to
dog and back again.

"Yeah,"
added Mike, "I didn't even see your mouth move!" Jack was
in
tears
and Maria was holding onto the console for support.

"I'm
not sure I understand..." said Walt, "did he get the
cigarettes
or
not?" That's when Paul lost it, he had just begun to understand
what Jack thought was so funny and the laughter was contagious.

"I
say," quipped Derrik "it wasn't that funny..."

"Laf!
Laf! Laf!" Barked Fritz as he bounced on the command
chair
excitedly.

"Good
Heavens!" yelled the Professor, laughing, eyes agog.

Jack
and Maria were both sitting on the floor, tears streaming down
their
faces. Brian's eyes were like saucers, "Did
HE
say that?" he asked, pointing at the dog. "Did
YOU
say that fuzzball?"

"Laf!
Laf! Laf!" barked the dog again, even louder than before.

“
Holy
crap
,
your dog
talks
...?”
Brian
and Mike fell down they were laughing so hard. There wasn't a dry
eye or straight face on the bridge. The laughter had spread across
the bridge like a tidal wave and like continuing waves of water,
spread back and forth as one side or the other slowed to catch their
breath.

"What
the Hellion is going on over there?!" Jack looked up to see
Gantarro's
face on the view screen. "I've been trying to reach you!"

Red
faced and out of breath, Jack rose from the floor, wiped the
tears
from his face and tried desperately to compose himself. "I'm
sorry, sir," he stifled a chuckle, "we learned last night,
Fritz was developing the ability to talk," he glanced at Pappy
and began to laugh. "Ahem, so, well we..." he laughed when
he looked at Brian gasping for air.

Gantarro
found himself laughing as well. Yet he did not know the
reason.
He glanced at his first officer who chuckled with him, but shrugged.
He didn't know why either.

"Anyway,"
continued Jack, taking a deep breath, "I played a practical
joke
on my bridge crew, who didn't know of this sudden development. It
was quite funny... I guess you had to be here."

"Aaaahh!
Well... my congratulations to Mr. Fritz! We just called to
wish
you luck and thank you for the escort."

"You're
welcome, sir," Jack was forcing composure, despite the sounds
of
controlled humor behind him. "Good luck and God's speed."
The screen went blank and the external view returned. The Princess
Hedonist turned away on its new heading and began its departure.
Jack turned back to the others who had suddenly grown quiet. They
were all staring at the screen, watching the image of the cruise
liner as it moved away.

"Ok,
boys and girls..." said Jack, startling half the crew on the
bridge, "it looks
like
we're on our own now..." He reached over to the console on his
command chair and turned on the monitors. Fritz, still sitting in
the chair, watched intently as Jack's fingers danced across the flat
keyboard. The musical beeping made him tilt his head in a curious
fashion. Jack found what he was looking for. "Helm, steer a new
course, one-five-one, point seven-three-nine, point zero-six-six."

"Yes,
sir..." the young bridge officer paused as he entered the
course into the computer, "course laid in, Captain."