Probe Predators (13 page)

“I don’t have anything else to do. I’ll meet you in front of the main building at six thirty.”

“Great! I’ll see you there.”

• • •

Jinx showered and tried to shake his disappointment but just couldn’t pull it off. He missed Katy so much and hoped he would see her the next evening. He dressed modestly and met Rags at six fifteen; both of them were always early. They took a ground shuttle to the restaurant and Jinx smiled at the décor. The Green Lantern was designed around an ancient comic book character. The lights inside were a shade of pale green and they were emitted from numerous lanterns hanging from the ceiling. He heard Rags talking to the hostess, “But we just arrived from maneuvers and were really looking forward to eating here.”

The hostess shook her head and then stepped around Rags and looked across the restaurant toward the bar, “There are two seats together at the end of the bar; if you hurry, you can sit together and order from the menu there.”

Rags looked at Jinx and saw he was backing up. Jinx was half way across the huge restaurant and Rags had to hustle to catch up. They barely beat two civilians and sat down a moment before they could claim the chairs. Rags looked at the two and smiled, “If you snooze; you lose.” The civilians smiled and punched fists with Jinx. Rags looked at Jinx, “I’ve wondered how you seem to always luck out; especially with Jinx for a name.”

“It really means that I jinx everyone else. Sort of like someone that causes bad luck to everyone around them.”

“Well, if you hadn’t taken off immediately, these seats would not have been ours.”

“Hi Guys, would you like a drink?”

The two pilots turned around and looked at the bartender. She was pretty and had a nice smile. “Madam, we wish to not only order a drink but a meal as well.”

“I’ll bring you a menu; you’ve come to the right place for a meal; our chef is amazing.”

The two pilots settled in and found the drinks were extraordinary but the food was even better. An hour later, Jinx smiled, “Your buddy was right about this place. I have to bring Katy here. Thank him for his recommendation.”

Rags nodded and looked out over the restaurant. His eyes narrowed and he said, “You can thank him yourself; he’s at the entrance now. Boy, he brought a real looker with him this time.”

Jinx turned around and looked toward the entrance. He saw a handsome, tall man wearing a burgundy colored suit that was made from Euclid Cloth. It had to cost a small fortune. He looked to the man’s right and his eyes narrowed. Rags saw his expression, “What’s wrong?”

Jinx said, “The looker is Katy.”

Rags looked at the couple and saw the blonde with Captain Conquest was beautiful. She wore an emerald green strapless dress and was absolutely gorgeous. He looked at Jinx and saw his heartbreak. Jinx sighed, “Is he called Captain Conquest for the obvious reason?” Rags blew out a breath and nodded. Jinx watched them led to a table and Katy was holding the handsome man’s hand. They were seated and she reached across the table and put her hand on his. She said something and the young man laughed. Rags didn’t know what to do. Jinx looked away from the couple, “We need to leave.”

Rags looked at Jinx, “Did you buy the ring?”

Jinx sighed, “No…I was going to do it next week.”

The bartender had been listening to their conversation and saw Jinx’s distress. She punched in the bill and gave it to Rags who used his card to pay for it. Jinx shook his head, “Hey, I need to pay…”

“We’ve been through this before. Let’s get out of here before you go and deck ole Conquest.”

Jinx stood and led the way out of the restaurant. He said over his shoulder, “It’s not his fault. She didn’t come wrapped up in chains.”

“I’m so sorry, Jinx.”

“I’ll be ok, Rags.”

“Are the two of you in the same wing?” Jinx nodded. “I know the Commodore is going to be in his office until late tonight; why don’t we go and see if he’ll transfer you to my wing. That way we can start working together.”

Jinx went out the front door and looked at Rags. He so wanted to go back in and confront Katy…but knew it wouldn’t do any good. He thought about what to do and, after ten minutes he nodded. Two hours later, he packed up his items and Rags helped him move them to another building.

• • •

Katy’s alarm went off and she had to force herself to roll out of bed. She had drunk too much the night before and was late getting in; the hammers in her head were beating a heavy rhythm that was impossible to dance to. She always met Jinx in the cafeteria for breakfast, when they were in port at the same time; she knew she had to hustle to make it. She showered, took pain pills, and hustled down to the cafeteria.

She looked around for Jinx and didn’t see him, which was odd; he was always early. She knew she should feel bad about misleading him but she had a great time and didn’t regret going. As a matter of fact, she was going out with Edward again this evening. She went through the food line, walked over to a table, and sat down. Where was Jinx?

The cafeteria started to fill up as the early riser pilots began arriving. She had finished her meal thirty minutes earlier and decided that it was probably a good thing he hadn’t shown up; this way she wouldn’t have to fib about not being able to go out tonight. She put her plates away and went back to her quarters. She fell on her bed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep instantly. Her last conscious thought was to wonder what happened to Jinx.

• • •

Katy waited for Edward to arrive and decided that she should call Jinx. He didn’t answer her call and after the sixth call, her unit disconnected after the first vibration. That had to mean he was disconnecting the call before it went to a recorder. What was going on? She pulled up the directory in her wrist unit and found the number of the hall communicator. She dialed it and asked to speak with Lieutenant Tollervar.

• • •

“I’m sorry, he no longer lives on this hall.”

“WHAT?”

“He moved out last night.”

“Do you have any idea why?”

“No, not really; I think I heard something about a restaurant but don’t quote me on that.”

Edward arrived in a limo and Katy’s heart went into her throat. She couldn’t think clearly and forced a smile as Edward opened her door. She worried all the way to the Green Lantern but managed to hide it from Edward.

After an hour, Edward excused himself to go to the restroom and Katy pulled up Jinx’s picture in her communicator and walked over to the bar where the waitresses and waiters were picking up drinks for their assigned tables. Katy showed the picture around and none of them recognized the photo. The bartender said, “Let me have a look.”

Kath extended her arm and the bartender smiled, “That’s Jinx.”

“How do you know that?”

“He was here last night eating a meal with a Kilper Pilot.”

“What time?”

“He arrived around seven. I heard the Kilper say that Captain Conquest had recommended it.”

“Captain Conquest?”

“Edward Snow; he’s been through more women in the short time I’ve worked here than most men do in a lifetime and he’s pretty proud of his conquests. As I remember, Jinx saw some girl, he was going to buy a ring for, out with the good captain and he decided to leave. I think the Kilper told him he needed to go and not make a scene.”

“What did he say?”

“He said it wasn’t Captain Conquest’s fault; she wasn’t brought here in chains.”

Katy walked back to her table and knew she was an idiot. She knew what kind of man Jinx was and she also knew how he felt about her. Edward came back and smiled his perfect smile, “I’m sorry for taking so long.”

Katy looked at Edward and said, “Why did you select me to go out with you…Captain?”

Edward’s smile went from perfection to merely small. “I’m a lieutenant.”

“Excuse me, Captain Conquest; I thought you were proud of your nickname.” Edward’s smooth demeanor disappeared and he leaned back in his chair. Katy looked him in the eyes, “Why did you choose me?”

“Your boyfriend beat me six times this past week in practice maneuvers. I decided he deserved a favor.” Katy’s eyebrows came together. “Oh don’t look at me like that! He’s lucky I did it.”

Katy’s voice was filled with venom, “How do you arrive at that?”

“He’s now learned that you really don’t care deeply for him. He needed to know that before he made a mistake.” Katy stared at Edward with deep hatred, “Come on, Katy. I didn’t even have to try hard to get you to drop your plans with him and come out with me. He deserves better than you. If you really cared about him, or his feelings, you wouldn’t have come.”

“How did you know he’d find out?”

“I didn’t; but once I told the guys who I was out with, he would have found out rather quickly.”

“You’re disgusting!”

“Let me tell you something; he beat me six times and I never had a chance against him. Afterwards, he didn’t lord it over me or smack talk me about my failures. He demonstrated remarkable class and really tried to help me improve my piloting skills. I asked around about him and found out about you. Since I lost out of the competition early, I decided to see if he had made a good choice; I discovered rather quickly he had not. He deserves better. So don’t get a holier than thou attitude with me over who you really are. You have no one to blame but yourself.” Edward stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Katy remained at her table and continued to call Jinx. She gave up when the restaurant closed and accepted a ride from the bartender, who asked her if she could get her a contact number to Jinx. She never recognized Katy as the same woman that was out with Edward the night before.

• • •

Rags heard Jinx’s wrist unit vibrate and he shook his head, “You are going to have to talk with her.”

“Give me one good reason why.”

“How do you know the last call was from her and not the Commander?”

Jinx jerked his wrist unit up, glanced at it, and shook his head, “It was her again.”

“You’ve got to clear the channel so you don’t dread answering it.” Jinx stared at him and Rags said, “You must have a clear mind to perform a combat dance.”

The unit started vibrating again and Rags walked away. Jinx blew out a breath and pushed the answer button, “Yes.”

He was greeted with silence and started to disconnect the call when he heard, “I’m sorry; I’m incredibly stupid to allow my fears to take control. I just wanted you to know.” The display went dark and Jinx went from surprise to disgust. He didn’t say a word and there was so much he wanted to say to that two timing, deceitful, lying twit. He waited for his communicator to vibrate again but it didn’t. He didn’t know whether to celebrate or be angry. He finally decided that it was best it was over.

He walked out to the dock and entered his needle; he and Rags were going to give it a go. Rags won the first engagement but Jinx beat him the next eight times. Rags was dumbfounded at the flying skills of his friend and improved his combat talents. The Commodore saw the reports and made them a team. The Training Staff then sent anywhere from two to sixteen needles at a time out to beat them and the two were undefeated. He finally sent the entire wing and rumors started about the Human and Kilper team that was unbeatable.

The Commodore was a Kilper and he sent the records to Admiral Kragon. He entered the two pilot’s contact numbers in his communication panel and decided he was going to need them, soon.

• • •

It’s from little things that great things arise. If Katy had not been unfaithful, Jinx and Rags wouldn’t have been put together as a team; Katy would have been Jinx’s wingman. That little thing was going to become monolithic before the war was well underway.

Drey, Dee, and Kragon sat in the Throne Room and waited for the Queen to arrive. Drey looked at the huge Kilper, “Do you have any idea why she called us here?” Kragon looked at Drey and nodded. “Are you going to tell me?” Kragon shook his head. Drey felt anger touch him but knew the physical prowess of a Kilper Warrior. He didn’t know who would win, if a fight broke out. He decided that now wasn’t the time to find out. He looked at Dee and saw her nod.

Angela came in and smiled at the three sitting in front of her throne and said, “Please take a seat.” The three straightened from their bows and sat down. She looked at Kragon, “Have you told him?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Why not?”

“That’s not part of my job description.”

Angela laughed as Drey and Dee wondered what they were talking about. Angela turned to Drey and smiled, “Drey, you are now Commander of all Union Forces.”

“Like hell I am.”

“Please recommend another more qualified than you.” Drey stared at Angela and she waited for him to respond.

Drey looked at Dee and she shook her head. He looked at Kragon and turned to the Queen. He nodded toward Kragon and said, “He is.”

Kragon said, “You’re too late. I’ve been saddled with the command of all the Kilper forces.”

“No kidding?” Kragon nodded. “Did you like it any more than I do?”

“Probably less.”

“Why is that?”

“I’ve been told I’ll have to work with you and we’ll have to agree on major decisions.”

Drey stared at Kragon and Dee snickered. He looked at Dee and tried to keep it in but started laughing. He managed to say, “I don’t know if I’d like that either. I am somewhat opinionated.”

Angela said, “I’m still waiting for another’s name.”

Drey looked at her and shook his head, “Your Majesty, you couldn’t find anyone more qualified to do anything. I have the highest High Genetic ranking so no one would be more qualified to be a bird catcher, dog walker, bug killer, grass grower…”

“…Or Commander of all our Forces.” Angela paused, “Which of those positions we’ve just enumerated is the most important? Can you think of a position of more importance for me to use my most highly ranked Genetic?”

Drey stared at Angela and, after a few moments, shook his head, “I am just not disposed to do this.”

Angela rolled her eyes, “Tell me what Drey did during the last war?”

“He led the attacks against the Family’s Fleets.”

“Are you saying he was in the front line leading the charge?”