Wings of Steele - Flight of Freedom (Book2) (57 page)

“
A pet?” He slid the throttle forward.

“
He's
way
more than a pet...”

■ ■ ■

Fritz paced the beach between the Invader and the hovering frigate, his nose to the damp sand, oblivious of the Marines standing around, protecting him. He moved in a natural pattern, searching for a familiar scent, pausing when the breeze carried it past his nose from a stand of boulders at the water's edge, perhaps twenty-five yards from him. His head went up and his nose moved back and forth, measuring, testing the quality of the sample. His concentration broke with the commotion of the Marines calling a halt behind him, and the unfamiliar sound of a group of approaching vehicles distracted him. What he did recognize was the sound of the voice shouting his name. “Lisa!' he barked, spinning around and sprinting through the group of Marines.

Jumping up on the side of the skimmer, it was hard to tell who was more excited as they hugged... Lisa crying, clutching his collar, or the dog whining, hopping up and down on his hind legs, his tail wagging madly.

Boolie Hutthorn's skimmer appeared and approached from the tree line, joining the others gathered at the water's edge near the landed Invader. He was a stocky man with a round face and a flat, wide-brimmed hat that nobody could figure out how he kept on while driving a skimmer. It was still a mystery, his little secret, a running joke that he enjoyed prolonging. “Good thing you fellas showed up, I was about to shoot that thing down,” he joked, indicating the Revenge.

“
It's a good thing they didn't shoot back at you, you half-wit,” called Nevin, “there wouldn't be enough left of you to put in a pouch... your Missus woulda had my scalp.” The ranchers and farmers all laughed.

“
Ma'am, I take it you'd be the missing, Lisa Steele?” asked the Marine Corporal, standing off the fender of Nevin's skimmer, his carbine at rest across his body.

“
That'd be me,” she smiled, hopping down.

She took his hand and they shook. “Corporal Dunnom, ma'am.”

“Lisa,” she smiled politely, “call me Lisa. Have you found Jack?”

“
No ma'am... er, Lisa. The Captain's still missing. Queen Alité thought Fritz would be able to help locate him,” he added nodding toward the Shepherd.

“
He was here,” said Fritz slowly.

“
Then this must be his!' shouted Hutthorn, standing up in his skimmer, holding up a white helmet. “We found it sitting on that boulder over there, pretty-as-you-please. Like someone had set it there.”

Fritz turned and sprinted toward the stand of boulders, sloshing through the water, Lisa running all-out, attempting to keep up, her slung carbine slapping against her back with each step, Corporal Dunnom close on her heels. The Shepherd jumped up, moving from surface to surface inspecting the tops and flats with his nose. “He was here... he not gone long.” He launched himself off the top down to the sand and began making circles, his head down.

“How long?”

“
Hours...”

“
Which way Fritz? Which way?” urged Lisa. The dog paused and pawed at the surface, pulling something loose that had been partially buried by sand carried by the low waves rolling up onto the beach. Lisa bent over and picked it up. “His watch... it's smashed.” She studied it for a moment, catching movement in the water out of the corner of her eye, looking like someone swimming, pointing south...

“
He went this way!” Fritz turned and began trotting south along the beach, “C'mon!”

She glanced up at his call, then back, but nothing was there. A sudden chill raced up her back as she studied the mostly featureless water, gentle little waves lapping at the sand.
How could that be?
She pushed it out of her head and ran after Fritz.

“
C'mon!”
he barked, “This way...”

■ ■ ■

Standing on the beach amid the cluster of skimmers, Nevin tossed Boolie a charge pack for his rifle, “You were out, right?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Looks like her brother went south; how far is the fisherman's place from here?”

“
You mean the crazy old man who talks about sea serpents all the time?”

“
Yeah, him.”

“
About ten miles, maybe less. Haven't been out there for awhile. Think he still lives there?”

Nevin leaned back against the fender of his skimmer, “I don't know. Why don't you take a couple of the fellas and go pay him a visit? It might be better if we did it, than if he see's all these folks show up on his doorstep. I'll stay with the girl, the rest of you guys can go home I suppose. Other than dealing with the old man, I think we've done about as much as we can.”

“You want me to stop by your place on my way home and let Helen know you should be home for supper?”

Nevin glanced at his neighbor, “If you don't mind. And she just harvested some Pattahoolia fruit if you need to pick some up.”

The man climbed into his skimmer, “I'll do that, Nevie. See you later.”

The group of ranchers broke ranks, heading out in different directions, most heading back the way they came. Hutthorn and a neighbor went south in their skimmers, passing Lisa and the Shepherd, while Nevin stayed close behind the pair, making their way steadily along the beach.

The long black frigate rose up off the surface, holding station about a thousand feet up a half a mile off the coast, the Invader staying put. Such was the strange parade traveling south along the beach; dog, girl, Marine Corporal, skimmer and a squad of heavily armed Marines trailing behind.

■ ■ ■

“What's the news on your search for Mr. Steele, Lieutenant?”

Brian shifted forward in his seat, leaning towards the screen in the ready room of the Revenge, happy to have something to report. “We're getting close, Admiral. We've recovered Ms. Steele; she had the assistance from a group of very helpful locals. She is with the dog now; they are tracking the Captain's trail...”

“Did you say the
dog
is tracking...?”

“
Yes, sir,” interrupted Brian.

The Admiral's brow furrowed. “You want to explain that to me, Lieutenant?”

“Uh, yes, sir. Dogs have a very heightened sense of smell. He is tracking the Captain's scent on the ground...”

“
You can't be serious...”

“
Yes Admiral. And Fritz's capabilities are even more advanced because of his CABL hardware...”

“
So, a
super nose?”

Brian couldn't help but smirk, “That's one way of looking at it, Admiral.”

“And why are we having to resort to this tactic when you're in a ship sporting the gold standard of sensor hardware?”

“
Well,” began Brian, “the forest canopy is very dense. It appears the trees in this area have a very strange property, their foliage absorbs energy. So, our sensors aren't penetrating to the ground unless there's an opening in the trees. We were able to detect where Ms. Steele came down because her seat tore a hole in the branches and foliage.”

“
And
that
allowed you to find her...”

“
No, sir,” replied Brian apprehensively. “With the assistance of the locals, she found us...”

The Admiral inhaled deeply to calm his aggravation. “You have units on the ground, correct?”

“Yes, sir. An Invader from the Freedom and a squad of Marines.”

“
Fine. At this point I think we need to leave it to them to finish the task. We're calling you and your support flights off the surface, I need you up here.”

“
Sir, I...”

“
Not open for discussion, Lieutenant Carter. The Revenge is the only ship in our happy little group with a GOD drive, and I need to put you and that ship to better use. We'll monitor progress on the surface through the tower at the Air and Space Port.”

Brian felt torn, Jack was his best friend but it was hard to argue with an Admiral - especially when he was right. Still, it was like hearing you mother when she was angry to and used your full name compel you to obey - a bit grating on the psyche. “Yes, sir,” he replied, none too happily, his jaw set. The screen winked out unceremoniously, flipping back to the UFW logo.

Brian gathered himself for a moment before walking out onto the bridge. “Prepare to break station,” he said as he emerged from the ready room, the door swishing closed behind him.

“
Aye, sir. Breaking station. Heading, sir?”

Brian plopped himself into the command chair, angry for being forced to abandon his friend. “Set course to rejoin the task force...”

Ragnaar swiveled around, “Sir? We're abandoning the search?”

“
Orders from the Admiral,” Brian replied gruffly.

“
Sir,” began Raulya, staring at her screens, “Red Flight and Zulu One are breaking off and leaving the surface... they're heading off-planet!”

“
That is correct, Lieutenant. We have been
recalled.”

“
What? What about the Invader and the Marines? Fritz..?”

“
They will be remaining here to continue searching,” he replied flatly, interrupting.

“
Incoming signal from the Archer.”

Brian sighed pensively; he still hadn't had enough time to unclench from the first communication. “On screen.”

The Admiral's face appeared as an inset on the big screen. “Sorry for the interruption, Lieutenant, I know you're busy. Just one more thing, your rank has been changed to Lieutenant Commander. Pending review.”

“
Sir..?”

“
That is all. Carry on, Lieutenant Commander.” The Admiral's picture winked out, leaving the bridge in an awkward silence. All eyes momentarily turned to Brian, and he wondered if he had just been bribed, or rewarded.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

FREERANGER - DD217 : ZENDER'S TREK

Ensign Grinah sat down at the table across from Commander T. B. Yafuscko, with a cup of dark Nadarian coffee and a pastry. “We just entered Zender's Trek, Tibby,” she said, blowing the steam off her coffee. The galley was between meals and occupancy was light, a small handful of crew members picking up a light snack or a beverage.

“You come all the way down here to tell me that?” he asked curtly, without looking up from the reports on his e-Pad.

Her head bobbed back like she's been slapped in the face.
“T. B. Yafuscko,”
she snapped quietly, glancing around and leaning in, “what is with the attitude?” She pointed at the empty bowl near his elbow, “Did you find a bug in your cereal this morning or something?”

He snorted and looked up smiling. “Sorry my dear... I can always count on you to keep me balanced, can't I?”

“So what's the deal, mister?” she demanded, leaning on her elbows.

He exhaled deeply, “Agh,” he waved, “it's all these lame assignments they keep sending us on. It's irritating. I want to be in the hunt for that bountied ship. We'll never get there running all this other garbage. I can't even seem to get any intel on what's going on.”

“What do we have here in Zender's Trek?”

“
Emergency distress call from a Maultier - some cargo transport that ran into trouble...”

“
Whose is it, do we know?”

Tibby glanced at the e-Pad. “McSuddeth Mining. Don't ever think I've heard of them before... have you?”

Grinah sipped her coffee. “Aren't they a sub of VirTech Mining?”

“
Really? That's interesting... That's the same outfit that lost the freighter in Haruna Tier a few months ago... they're not having a very good year...”

“
Mining's a dangerous profession,” said Grinah, biting into her pastry.