BORN OF HEROES

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 9
 

Elias was looking over his DataPak as he sipped a cup of coffee. Cerise and her mother had already for the day, purchasing things for the newlyweds that they would need onboard the Guiding Angel. Rovi was also gone for the day to his office at the local branch of Binfurr Arms Corporation, and Celia and Gey were at school.

  The fox wanted one more cup of coffee before he left for the Okami shipyards to supervise the preliminary stocking of munitions and supplies. He was only paying marginal attention to what he was doing as he poured over the lists on the small computer screen of his hand-held unit. He added cream and a fraction of a spoon of sugar, stirred, and took a sip. He set the cup down to make a note on the DataPak, which saved Elias from having to clean up a broken cup and spilled beverage as the base of his tail was pinched.

  He spun around expecting to see Cerise, but was met with the grinning face of her sister, Keena. “What are you doing?” he asked in irritation. The russet vixen had been watching him since the ceremony and it was starting to bother him. As it was he thought that she had already left for the day as well.

  “No need to play hard to get, Elias. My sister isn’t here so we have plenty of time to play.” She stepped closer and put her fingertips against his chest. “Don’t you want to play with me?” she asked in a winsome voice with an arch look. “I’m far more interesting than some silly computer, aren’t I?”

  “No, Keena. I don’t want to play. Can’t you get it through your head that I’m paired with Cerise? Don’t you understand that I do not, or have ever wanted you? What’s it going to take for you to get the message?” Elias felt his anger start to rise. He moved towards the small table in the kitchen to put something between him and the insistent vixen.

   “I like it when you play hard to get. It makes everything so much more delicious and exciting.” She walked around the table and Elias tried to keep the distance between them.

  “Go find someone else, Keena. I have work to do,” he growled, sitting down and focusing on the DataPak.

  The vixen giggled. “Or what? Are you going to get rough? I like rough. I like lots of things. Maybe I can show you some of them.”

  Keena walked up behind Elias and nuzzled the back of his neck before nipping at him playfully. That was the last straw. Elias slammed the DataPak on to the table so hard that the screen cracked. He stood while pushing the female away at the same time.

  “Enough!” he roared. “Leave me alone! Leave Cerise alone! Don’t come near us, don’t talk to us! Just leave!”

  “Yes. Just leave, Keena,” came a voice from the doorway.

  Standing just past the threshold of the door was Sharan, a look of cold anger in her eyes.

  “Your father and I have put up with your foolish behavior long enough. It’s time for you to go,” the older vixen said, her voice icy.

  Keena flicked her hair aside as she assumed an indifferent attitude. “Fine. I’ll go. There are more interesting places to be with more interesting and fun people.”

  Sharan shook her head. “I think you misunderstand, daughter. I want you to leave the house. For good. Maybe you can come back someday when you’ve grown up, but for now I want you out.”

  Keena stopped dead in her tracks and stared at her mother in disbelief. “You can’t be serious?”

  The older vixen held her ground, her look and expression not changing in the slightest. “I’m very serious. You know that your sister and Elias are a married and mated pair, and for you to behave like this is beyond reprehensible. Your father and I have let your actions go unchecked for far too long, but we had hoped that at the very least you would comprehend that all choices have consequences. This apparently hasn’t been the case, so this will be a hard lesson. I don’t want to do this, but you have left me no option. You have an hour.”

  Keena stared at her mother for several long moments more, then her eyes narrowing and going hard, spun and left the room, her anger rolling off of her in near palpable waves.

  Sharan sighed with her eyes closed, then opened them and looked at Elias sadly. “I’m sorry for that, Elias. In the end the ones to blame are Rovi and I.”

  The white fox moved towards his mother-in-law and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and tried to give her a comforting smile. “You did your best, but she has to make her own choices, and, as she has just found out, accept the repercussions to those choices.”

  “You’re too kind, Elias,” Sharan said.  

  They heard the front door open accompanied by Cerise singing softly to herself, and both moved to go help the young female with her packages. At almost the same time, Keena came down the stairs that led to the upper floors, a medium sized bag slung over her shoulder. She paused and said something that Elias and Sharan couldn’t make out, but the tone dripped with unmistakable malice and venom. Cerise went rigid for a moment, then let the bags she was carrying slip from her hands to the floor. Elias and Sharan watched the scene unfold as if watching a video in slow motion. Cerise’s right hand curled into a fist and opened, her shoulder dropped, then she brought her arm up in a wide arc that ended with an open handed slap that rocked Keena’s head back.

  Cerise waited for her sister to react to the blow, but nothing happened. Keena, her head lowered submissively, adjusted her bag and left through the door that Cerise had just come in. Minutes later there was the sound of a ground car leaving.

  Elias let out the breath he was holding as Sharan went to her daughter. When he saw that Cerise’s shoulders were shaking, he felt chagrin at her distress and moved to comfort her. When she turned around, though, the fox saw that Cerise was chuckling.

  “I know it’s wrong of me to say it, but it felt really good to do that!”

  Sharan was looking at Cerise with astonishment, then both females burst out laughing.

  “She did have it coming to her,” the older vixen said, a sad look replacing the smile. “Come along, Dear. Elias has some fresh coffee made and I think we could both use a cup.”

  As Sharan went into the kitchen, Cerise glided gracefully into the circle of Elias’s arms. “Did she really try to seduce you?”

  The white fox nodded. “I wanted to deck her myself. She just doesn’t understand how I feel about you does she?”

  Cerise shook her head. “She spends time around individuals that are simply looking for a good time, and that has narrowed her view that that’s all anyone wants or is good for. Maybe someday she’ll learn differently. Maybe.”

  They went into the kitchen and Cerise noticed the damaged DataPak. She gave Elias a questioning look. He shrugged. “It was either that or her when she put her hands on me.”

  “We only have a few more days before we lift,” Cerise said, “and you won’t have to worry about Keena during that time.” Then her eyes brightened. “That reminds me! I have something for you.” She got up from the table and went out to the front room where her packages lay and came back in with a long garment bag. “I had this made especially for you. It was supposed to be a wedding present, but it wasn’t ready until this morning.” She held the parcel out to Elias.

  He took it and unzipped the front. Whatever lay inside was heavy and smelled of new leather. Sliding the bag off, Elias revealed a long leather coat in glossy black with shoulder and elbow patches trimmed out in deep green, as was the satin liner. Each button was made out of silver and embossed with a depiction of an Okami model H freighter and the name Guiding Angel printed along the inner ridge. With an astonished expression, he slid into the coat and rolled his shoulders to settle it.

  It wasn’t nearly as heavy wearing it as it had seemed, and there were vents cunningly hidden in all the right places so that there was good airflow and even in the relatively comfortable temperature of the house the coat didn’t cause overheating.

  “Cerise…I don’t know what to say,” Elias told her, a pleased smile on his face.

  “There’s more,” she said standing up. “The coat is a little loose here and here so that you can go armed and it won’t be noticeable. Plus there is ballistic mesh between the outer leather and liner. It won’t do much against heavy caliber weapons, but should provide good protection against pistols and blades.” She then eyed him up and down appraisingly. “A ship’s Captain should have something that sets him apart from the crew. Besides, it makes you look rather dashing!”

***

  The preliminary trials on the Guiding Angel went better than expected, and Elias and crew were looking forward to getting the ship out into space. The technicians at Okami moved the ship to the starport once the weapons testing was complete and the expendable munitions were loaded. Brees stood at the observation deck rail with Elias, Cerise and Saul Reese as the ship was deftly maneuvered to landing pad 27. The ship’s new color scheme glinted in the early afternoon sun, the overall metallic green seeming to scintillate and the great silver wings that were painted along the sides catching the sunlight beautifully.

  “She is a lovely ship,” the lion said, his large hands resting on the rail as he regarded the ellipsoid vessel with envy and a hint of pride. “I wish I was going with you.”

  Elias chuckled. “Sandy, we have a decent spare cabin. Anytime you get tired of flying behind a desk, you let me know. We’ll bring you on as a Commodore.”

  Brees shook his head ruefully. “No, son. This is a young person’s game and I am getting to be well past my prime. As they say, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is another story.”

  The lion was dressed in a business suit that looked very expensive and tailored for Sander’s large frame. He waited until the transfer pilot had set the vessel down and straightened. “What’s say we go down there so that you can take possession of your new ship?”

  An electric jitney ferried the quartet out to the pad where the Guiding Angel rested. While the huge vessel had three landing jacks, the weight of the engines more than balanced the ship on the rear units giving an observer the impression of a great bird getting ready to launch into the air.

  Elias accepted the access codes from the transfer pilot, a female raccoon, as her crew of three exited through the personnel airlock. “You have a fine ship there, Captain. I hope she serves you well.”

  Elias smiled. “I’m sure she will. Thank you.” He then moved to the airlock and went inside the main hold. Cargo pod simulators that swung down from the ceiling hid the Raptor interceptor from casual observation. Once everyone was inside, Elias turned to his jaguar First Officer. “Saul, go ahead and call in the supply trucks and issue the summons for the rest of the crew. Until everyone gets here, keep her buttoned up. We don’t need anyone curious getting too close a look inside. Then when you’re done with that, go ahead and pick a cabin and get settled in. We lift at 0400 in the morning and I want everyone settled and supplies stowed.”

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll get right on it,” the jaguar said and turned to go.

  “Saul,” Elias said with a shake of his head. “Casual and nonmilitary, okay?”

  The feline flashed his Captain a slightly embarrassed grin. “Right, Boss. Sorry,” he said with a self-deprecating shrug.

  The fox then turned to Cerise. “Let’s go ahead and get our stuff stowed. We have a few hours before the supply trucks get here, and about that long before the rest of the crew starts arriving.” He turned to Brees who was looking around the cargo bay as the petite vixen went back out through the airlock to start bringing in their bags and personal belongings. “Everything all right?”

  Brees smiled. “Just really wishing I was younger. And worried.” Elias looked at him squarely with a raised eyebrow prompting the lion to continue. “I hate sending all of you out there without sharing the risk with you. It’s hard to accept. I was always the one that jumped in to do a job, now I have to send others out to do it for me.”

  The fox nodded. “I can understand that. And I’m not going to say something along the lines of you having done your share, because we both know that’s a load of scat. All I can say is that I and my crew will do our best to make you proud, Sandy.”

  Sander Brees nodded and smiled. “I know you will.” He stuck out his hand, which Elias took and shook with strength and, he hoped, reassurance. “Cerise has all of the comm data necessary to reach me on encrypted channels, so keep in touch.”

  “I will. You take care of yourself, Sir.”

  The lion left, and Elias stood in the hold for a moment before also going out of the airlock. He and Cerise had mostly clothes to bring in, though there were a few other items, and it only took ten minutes to transfer everything into the lift and get it up to the second deck. Clothing went immediately into the built in wardrobe and Elias left Cerise to place photos and other small effects around the cabin. The one picture, with a self-adhesive frame, that had to go up first was the image of him and Cerise taken right after their formal marriage ceremony. Around that were pictures of the couple with family and a few friends. Giving his wife a quick kiss, Elias went to the bridge to go over the various checklists. He could have let Saul do it, or others where it dealt with what would be their area of expertise, but Elias had always been a firm believer in redundancy for ship operations. It was too easy for a single individual to miss something that might have seemed inconsequential, but would later turn out to be vital.

  Elias also wanted to make sure that a particular reservation was still being held for him and his crew. Once satisfied with certain preparations that had nothing to do with the Guiding Angel herself, he went back to his task. Cerise eventually entered the bridge and took her station at the communications and sensor console, running through her own series of tests and checklists. While everything was brand new from the Okami yards, there was always the chance of something going wrong through either a rushed installation job, or manufacturing error that was missed. Elias figured they wouldn’t be totally bug or glitch free for about six months. All ships, regardless of who built them had kinks that needed to be worked out and that often took half a year before a ship was properly seasoned. Then there was the crew, which was normally the most troublesome variable in a shakedown cruise.

  Elias finished his checklist and turned around to see Cerise still hard at work running tests and diagnostics on the communications and sensor equipment. He didn’t want to disturb her, so he stood quietly and left the bridge to perform a quick walk through of the ship and encountered Randal Mercks.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here so soon,” Elias told the wolf.

  Randal gave his Captain a quizzical look. “I rode over with the transfer crew. I’ve been going over the security points in the access tubes. Oh, and I have the inventory of all the weapons lockers. I’ve already forwarded a copy to your terminal, and here’s the hard copy.” The soft spoken combat specialist gave a sheaf of papers to the fox. “I’ve also taken an accounting of ammunition count and type, and security codes. They can be tied into any of the three VIP 25 units if you want, or we can keep them separate.”

  “Let’s go ahead and keep them separate,” Elias suggested. “I don’t want to have to access arms in a rush and be thwarted by a possible glitch with conflicting lock codes.”

  Randal nodded. “That was going to be my suggestion. They are all set with an alarm, though, that will notify you, Mister Reese, and myself of any access as well.”

  “Good. So, have you found any problems? Or have any suggestions you might want to make?” Elias asked, thumbing through the hard copy.

  “Not really. We’re pretty well stocked. Most of the weapons are fairly standard light small arms. All Binfurr produced, so they are dependable and effective. There are four lockers on this deck, two on the recreation deck, and two down in the cargo hold. The cargo lockers have the heavier items. Most of the firearms are 7 millimeter pistols, 10 millimeter sub machineguns, and 12 gage Close Assault Weapon Systems, or CAWS. I have two 14 millimeter heavy rifles in the lower lockers and there are stun, flash and gas grenades in each locker as well.”

  Elias nodded. “Serious hardware,” he commented.

  The wolf gave a lopsided grin. “We’re on a serious mission, Captain.”

  The fox nodded and returned the smile. “That we are.” He flipped to the last page. “Go ahead and issue the body armor when the rest of the crew gets settled in. I don’t want to have it all in one location in case something unforeseen happens. Same with pressure suits. Make sure each station has the required number of emergency units for the crew stationed there plus a couple of extras. And get with Stram on safety procedures. You two will be in charge of that area.”

  “Roger that, Captain. Oh, I hope you don’t mind. I claimed the cabin second closest to the lift, though I will most likely be spending most of my time either in the hold, or on the rec deck.”

  “That’s fine. Who is getting the closer cabin? And why the rec deck?” Elias asked.

  “I figured that it would be smarter to have that bunny pilot…”

  “Lena.”

  “Lena,” the wolf said with a nod. “I figured it would be prudent to have Lena closer to the lift in case she has to launch quickly. As for the rec deck, I’ve already been asked to give hand-to-hand instruction by a few of the crew. When duties allow, of course.”

  The fox nodded. “I might take you up on that myself. I’m still not fully up to par after the crash and I am feeling decidedly rusty.”

  “You just let me know when it’s good for you and we’ll set it up. Actually the more we have at any given time, the better. It adds to the teaching of flexibility as no two individuals fight the same.”

  Elias gave his permission to Randal to set things up as he saw fit, and figured between the wolf and his old comrade Melise, the two would be able to keep the crew in good shape and prepared for unexpected events.

  The rest of the crew arrived well short of the two hours that Elias had expected, and everyone chipped in when the supply vehicles arrived at the landing pad. Not only were foodstuffs unloaded and stowed quickly and methodically, but there was a sizeable shipment of entertainment materials such as books, videos, games and the like. Until something happened to advance the ability of ships to travel interstellar distances more rapidly, transit times would remain almost constant and range from a week to six months on average, depending on where Elias took the ship to and from where. The crew had also been encouraged to purchase whatever hobby items they wanted while they were getting their civilian gear.

  Elias, and the rest of the crew, save Cerise, knew that serving on a ship, specifically SPF vessels, was normally a cycle of weeks of tedious routine with fleeting moments of fear and adrenaline thrown in. It could wear on an individual rapidly, which was why they would often take a week of downtime for every three they were in space. It wasn’t the best solution, but it would help cut down on interpersonal frictions.

  Before the sun set, everyone on the crew had a cabin and most of their belongings properly stored. Supplies were put away and Elias ordered the ship sealed and assembled everyone to the recreation deck. It didn’t take long for the others to gather, and the fox stood in front of the aft viewports that could also serve as the vidscreen for entertainment videos or debriefings. He waited while everyone sat or stood according to preference, with Saul standing beside him. When everything was more or less quieted down, he spoke without preamble.

  “We lift at 0400 in the morning. I want preflight checks for all departments completed by 0330 hours. Yes, that means that tomorrow is going to start early, but that can’t be helped. It was the best time to get a clear area around Dennier and its moon so that we can get out and run through some space trials before we head to our first destination. Save one individual, none of you are rookies. You all know what’s involved in this mission so I am expecting nothing short of absolute professionalism. While this isn’t a standard SPF vessel, it is nonetheless a warship. That means that while we are functioning in a clandestine manner and posing as honest freight movers, I will tolerate zero insubordination. My orders are law. Period. I have been authorized to mete out any discipline action that I see fit for indiscretions.

  “I don’t want to have to do that. All of you were chosen for this because you are within the top five percent or better in your respective specialties. As such I have high standards for all of you to meet.”

  Elias looked at each individual as he spoke and saw that many either returned his look or nodded in agreement.

  “My only real hard and fast rule is that you don’t gum up the works. You people know what this means. You can do what you want when you are off duty. You can sleep when you want, eat when you want, or even pair off. It’s going to happen. Just don’t let it affect the performance of the ship. And when it comes to pairing off, I really don’t care who or what you do. We’ve all been on deep space runs and we all know it happens. Just be advised that myself and Cerise are an exclusive pair and to be considered off limits. Period. Normally I wouldn’t say anything like this, but something happened recently and I want to get that in the clear right off the bat.

  “As for the only other things that I won’t tolerate, in fact I will probably shoot you myself if I find out it’s a problem, is drinking on or immediately before duty or the use of…other intoxicants. There is no exception to this rule. And if you don’t believe me that I’ll be hell incarnate on a person for breaking this rule, ask Melise about it.”

  Elias relaxed. He had had numerous Captains that had given similar pre-cruise briefings and made it clear what was acceptable, expected and what would get an individual a quick slot in the brig. His next action was one that no Captain he’d ever had did for any of the crews he was on.

  “Now then, if you would all be so kind as to make sure that you have you identification cards, and that would be your civilian ones, and meet me outside in fifteen minutes, it would be greatly appreciated. Dismissed.”

  He watched as the crew filed out, though Cerise, Saul, Melise and the ship’s Doctor, Lemuel Anders remained behind.

  “Fairly standard prelaunch pep talk, El,” Melise said, stretching and cracking her back. “I don’t ever remember any of our previous captains claiming someone as off limits because of marriage, though.”

  “That’s because none of our previous captains had their wives or husbands onboard with us,” Elias said in a sarcastic manner with a smile.

  “Don’t be snarky,” the panda told him with a chuckle. “Let me guess, one of the other females made eyes at you already?”

  Elias shrugged. “Yeah. Something like that. I just want to make sure things are clear.”

  Lemuel was chuckling. “The only way you could have made the point any more direct is if you had drawn down on the others with your sidearm while talking. I think the message got through, though.”

  “So, where are we going, Boss?” Saul asked. “I wouldn’t mind getting a bite to eat and logging some rack time.”

  “It’s a surprise, Saul. We’ll meet you all outside. Ten minutes,” Elias said tapping his watch. Taking Cerise’s arm, he entered the lift with her and took it all the way to the cargo bay.

  Lena and Randal were already outside the ship, standing in the rosy light of the setting sun on the tarmac in front of the Guiding Angel. Lena had caught Elias off guard when he saw her on the rec deck. Gone was her long hair and black and silver-gray fur. She wore shorts, sandals and a sleeveless blouse over a tube top. Where her arms and legs were exposed she had strange designs bleached in her fur and dyed electric blue, as was her now spiky hair, save a single braid that trailed down her back. For his part, Randal looked like an advertisement for camping wear. His khaki cargo pants and olive green shirt with rolled up sleeves made him look like a model for an outdoor outfitter. He was almost a polar opposite from the rabbit.

  “I don’t think I would ever be brave enough to try something like that,” Cerise said with some envy at the doe’s new style.

  Lena smiled in response to the comment. “I remember someone telling me that we were to try and look non-military,” she said in a low voice that was supposed to sound like an exaggerated conspiratorial whisper, adding a wink to the statement that made Cerise laugh. “I figured that this was about as non-military as I could get. That and I’ve always wanted to try this. So…viola!”

  “It looks amazing!” Cerise said, stepping away from Elias to look the rabbit over. “Is the dye job one of those permanent ones?”

  “Oh, no,” Lena said with a chuckle. “I’ll have to redo it every month or so. I couldn’t justify the cost of doing a permanent dye job. This was pricey enough as it was!”

  “You even dyed your tail?” Cerise asked stunned by the audacity of the thought.

  “Sure! What better way to advertise one’s assets, if you’ll pardon the pun,” Lena said with a shake of her rump.

  Randal turned to Elias with a smile a little larger than the half expression he normally wore. “I think the bunny may be a corrupting factor in regards to your mate, Captain.”

  Elias chuckled. “If she wants to try it, she’s welcome to.” Then he gave the thought a little more attention and added a subdued, “I think.”

  Cerise looked at her husband with a mischievous smile. “I might.”

  Elias looked around the starport and spied a ship that looked familiar a little further down the line of freighters and private craft that sat along the length of the tarmac and tried to put his mental finger on where he’d seen the ship before while Cerise and Lena engrossed themselves in conversation. The rest of the crew began to file out of the airlock, but it wasn’t until Melise emerged, telling a bawdy joke that was one of her favorites to the ship’s engineer, Stram, that he recalled why the ship was familiar.

  “Cerise? Do you think that you can get everyone to the…um, where we were taking them? I need to take care of something real quick. I’ll meet you there in half an hour.”

  The petite vixen nodded and smiled. “Sure. The van’s here anyway. We’ll see you there in a bit.”

  Elias gave her a kiss and trotted off to the starport terminal while the others piled into a limousine van. Entering the starport terminal, Elias made his way through the crowd that was omnipresent at such facilities, either individuals that worked there, travelers heading to or coming from one destination or another, or freighter crews taking a break from duties or resting prior to lift off. After searching, the fox found a store that had what he wanted. Rovi had introduced him to something called champagne during the formal wedding ceremony, and Elias wanted a couple of bottles. Starports were one of the best places to find imported goods that would otherwise be sold at a specialty shop, and also had the benefit of being duty free.

  The clerk, a ringtail lemur with bright orange eyes helped him find what he was looking for and rang up the purchase. Elias figured that two bottles of something called Bollinger would be sufficient for the crew of the ship and its Captain. Then the total came up and the fox gulped loudly. The two bottles of wine could have been a down payment on a brand new ship! Slightly stupefied by the price, Elias handed the ringtail a credicard. The funds were set up through a third party escrow group from the Spatial Police Force funding and would be nigh impossible to trace back to the interstellar organization, and had been established specifically for Elias and his ship.

  As Elias accepted the sack with the wrapped bottles, he knew that there was a good chance that Brees would have him thrown into the brig for the amount that he’d just spent, but the crew of that ship earned a special treat and token of gratitude.

  Elias approached the other freighter and noted that while there was no one outside, the airlock was open. He looked up and saw the vessel’s name. Blue Horizon. It was a name that he would never forget. He walked up the ramp and stopped a few feet away from the actual opening and called out.

  “Hello the Blue Horizon! Any about?”

  There was a sound from inside that sounded like metal hitting metal and a young German Sheppard with ice blue eyes came to the hatch. He was in slightly grungy overalls and had obviously been working on something in the ship, as the large wrench he held attested to.

  “Can I help you?” the youth asked with a friendly smile.

  Elias automatically appraised the lad and noted that while lean, the boy had some serious muscle. “I hate to take you away from your work, but can you tell me who the Captain of this vessel is?”

   The German Sheppard’s smile vanished to be replaced by a look of suspicion. “Maybe when I know who’s asking?” the boy said as his grip on the wrench tightened.

  “Max!” A female voice called from inside the hold called out. “What are you doing?”

  “We have a visitor,” the youth, obviously named Max, called over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving Elias.

  “Um, I have this for your Captain. He did me and mine a favor a while back and I just wanted to say thanks.” He held up the sack containing the champagne.

  A fetching female Border collie came up behind the young Sheppard, and saw Elias. “Can I help y…you!”

  Max misunderstood the collie’s tone and thought that the fox was a threat and started to raise his large wrench. With a yelp, the female stopped him. “No, Max! It’s all right. This person is a friend.” She slid past the young mechanic. “Sorry. We’ve had some trouble in the past and it’s better to be a little suspicious, Warrant Officer Tivnan.” The collie smiled and extended her hand. “It’s good to see you up and about.”

  Elias smiled. “Thank you, Ma’am. It was a bit of a long road. And it’s not Warrant Officer anymore. I’m…um, not with the SPF anymore. I guess you can call me ‘Captain’, though I’d really rather prefer if you just called me Elias.”

  Max had finally put name to face and his mouth dropped in astonishment. “Yeah! We helped get your crew off that ship that crashed into the Arvallian a few months ago. Glad to see you made it. You had all of us worried there for a while.”

  “It was a little touchy for a while, but I made it, thank you. Actually thanks to you, Ma’am,” Elias said.

  She laughed. “It’s our Captain you want to thank, Merlin Sinclair. Merlin’s not here right now, but he should be back tomorrow morning.” Then as if she realized something, the collie smacked her head lightly. “I forgot! You really weren’t in any condition to remember us. I’m Samantha. This is our junior mechanic, Max. Did you want to meet with Merlin? I can make sure he has some free time tomorrow?”

  Elias shook his head. “I don’t think that will be possible. My ship lifts at 0400. But I would appreciate it if you would give him this to share with all of you as a way of appreciation.”

  Samantha accepted the sack, then slid out one of the bottles and her eyes went wide. “Are you sure about this, Elias? This is a very extravagant gift!”

  “And I can’t think of anyone else that deserves it more. Not only did you save my life and those of my crew, you made it possible for me to have met my wife.” He smiled and gave a formal bow. “Would you please convey to Captain Sinclair that if he ever needs, the Captain and crew of the Guiding Angel are at his service?” He handed her a card with his contact information, but nothing else on it.

  Samantha nodded. “I know that he’ll be very pleased to hear that you are doing well. And he will certainly appreciate your gift. Likewise, if there is anything that we can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  “Thank you, Samantha. I have to go now, but it was an honor and pleasure to meet you. And you, Max.”

  Samantha held out her hand, as did the youth. Elias shook both then turned and walked back down the ramp, summoning a taxi on his personal DataCom as he left the Blue Horizon. The name had sounded familiar, then it was with a start that he recalled that was the name of the vessel that made the Silloni run after star SDC-971 went nova and cut off that far away world from the rest of the Planetary Alignment. If he remembered the newscasts correctly, Holly Harken was in contact with a member of that ship’s crew named Samantha. That ship had been a different, earlier model Okami G, though.

  Interesting events to say the least.

  The taxi arrived within a few minutes at the gate that kept unauthorized personnel from entering the landing area and Elias slid in, giving directions to the driver as to where he wanted to go, and sat back. Before long the small car deposited him in front of the Grand Cobalt Hotel, a very posh resort that lay in the heart of Grandstorm. He made his way to the dining room of the Azure restaurant to find his crew, Rovi and Sharan Tambor, Colonel Sander Brees and his mate Meri waiting for him.

  “It’s about time, son,” the Colonel said, cocktail glass in hand. “I’m starving and you’re making me wait for my supper!”

  Elias smiled, went to his wife, accepted a glass from her, and joined the others in a dinner celebrating the launch of the Guiding Angel on her maiden voyage.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

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