Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (15 page)

They
sat quietly, if not a bit on edge, waiting for the lift
to
reach its destination. Progress was slow, presumably because it was
a freight elevator and not built for speed. When the lift hummed to
a stop at its appointed level, the five riders were united and ready
to meet whatever fate had dealt them. Prepared for the worst, they
crouched along the walls, facing the door at the front of the
elevator, weapons ready for whomever might be on the other side.
After a short pause that seemed extensive, the door hissed open
automatically
to reveal an empty corridor, the group released a collective sigh of
relief.

Shooing
the people off its transport platform with a lone hand,
their
mechanical tour guide pointed the way down the corridor, explaining
the desired route, and that he needed to leave them to complete his
delivery. Jack nor his companions understood more than the fact that
they were now on their own. Standing in the empty corridor, they
said goodbye to the helpful automaton, who gave a hearty wave before
the door whooshed shut, leaving them feeling lost and alone.

This
part of the ship looked much different, the corridors, thickly
carpeted,
looked warm and livable. Where walls met ceiling and floor, the
surfaces curved rather than meeting at right angles. There were no
sharp corners at intersecting corridors, walls were heavily padded
and they curved around. All doorways were still octagonal, but,
were inset almost two feet and luxuriously padded. Colors were in
pleasant shades of blue-gray and charcoal. Lighting was good but
soft and easy on the eyes.

"Well,
this sure looks like it's set up for some kind of habitation,
what
do you think?" said Pappy shouldering his carbine casually.

"Yep...
and five-star accommodations by the looks of it," commented
Jack,
brushing
his hair back one-handed. "Think it could be... maybe, a
pleasure liner or something?"

"I
never thought I'd say this, but at this point, I wouldn't doubt
anything,"
said Pappy shaking his head.

Brian
shrugged, "I stopped thinking an hour ago, I was getting a
headache."

They
looked at Warren who threw up his free hand, "I'm just along
for
the ride," he said, smiling weakly. He hugged the carbine with
crossed arms, "So, now what?"

"Voices!"
whispered Maria.

"We
hide!" whispered Jack motioning around the corner.

They
waited until the voices disappeared before peeking down the
corridor,
it was empty. "We'd better start moving, we're not
accomplishing anything this way."

"Exactly
what
are
we trying to accomplish Jack?"

“
Well
Ms. Arroyo, when I figure it out, I'll let you know. Let's go."

They
filed down the corridor, in the direction given them by the
automaton.
Hugging the walls, the explorers would shrink into doorways for
cover whenever they heard voices near intersections. They had
covered quite a distance, and so far their luck was holding out.
They seemed to be on a level primarily made up of sleeping quarters
and suites. The traffic the companions encountered was fairly light.
They were all dying for a peek to see just exactly who or what was
roaming the halls, but their need for secrecy was paramount and they
dared not risk revealing themselves.

"Ok,
it's clear, let's go."

The
group exited the doorway in single file and raced across
the
intersecting walkway. Passing several more doorways, they came upon
a rather wide but short corridor, richly appointed and decorated.
Jack and Pappy ventured a quick look and found a huge door at the
end, similar in size to the very first door they had passed through
with the robot. The exception was, this one was lavished with
intricate designs, gilded in what looked to be gold. They stood
wide-eyed, staring at the extravagant show of wealth and design
which seemed so inconsistent with what they had observed so far.
Momentarily forgetting themselves, Mike, Brian and Maria, also
crowded around to gawk at the intricate gold inlay.

The
door split down the middle and swooshed open without warning,
catching
the five gawkers off-guard. They stumbled and fell trying to clear
the corner before being seen. "C'mon, c'mon, move it."
Steele growled, dragging Maria by the arm and trying not to fall on
her.

Loud,
intense, rhythmic music, poured through the open doorway,
flooding
the corridor. Revelers streamed into the hallway, singing and
dancing, presumably returning to their rooms, drinks in hand. Their
voices preceded them as their mass dispersed and filtered down
different corridors, laughing and carousing.

"Casino?"
asked Pappy in hushed tones, as the five explorers huddled
in
the recessed doorway.

"Could
be. Sounds like a nightclub to me," whispered Jack. It was
then
he realized several partiers were headed down their corridor. "Shit,
shit, shit!"

"What
do we do now, genius?" hissed Maria.

Five
people tried to force themselves into a corner of the entryway
and
become invisible, Brian played with the entry's keypad, "Maybe
we can get in..." He had always been good with gadgets. "Be
patient."

"Patient..?
Patient..?
Are you
nuts..?
they're right on top of
us,
hurry the hell up!" Maria hissed again.

"Don't
rush me..." said Brian coolly, "these things take time."
He'd
removed
the cover and was pursuing a trial and error/educated guess method,
of finding the right circuit to open the door.

The
alien partiers were so close Jack could swear he smelled the air
of
alcohol, he switched off the safety on the carbine, not sure whether
he would use it or not... "Anytime
now
would be nice Bri..."

"
Wwooooaaaaahhhhh
..!"

Jack,
Pappy, Mike, Brian and Maria tumbled simultaneously backwards
through
the door as it slid open. Sliding closed automatically, it left them
laying on top of one another in a semi-darkened room.

"So,
how's that for timing?" asked Brian, grinning to himself
in
the darkness.

"Just
fine..." Maria gasped, "now would you mind getting off of
me?"

"Sorry."

"I
hope this isn't their room..." said Jack, listening at the door
on
his hands and knees, " Hmmm... well, I guess we're Ok for now."
Sitting with his back against the door, Jack stretched his legs to
relax.

"Were
you really gonna' use that thing?" asked Maria, pointing to
the
M1 in Steele's lap.

"I
don't know..." said Jack winking at Paul Smiley, "it
depends on
how
bug-eyed ugly and slimy they were." The two men laughed,
primarily to irritate Maria... it worked. She sat quietly, sulking.

"We
could use some light," said Mike, standing. The room grew
perceptibly
lighter as he said it. "Wow, did you see that?" They
verbally played with the lights, exploring their new discovery. The
room was fairly sizable and well laid out. It had all the standard
features one might expect of a fine hotel suite on earth, except the
architecture was completely foreign in style. Every surface was
either padded or curved, and no corners existed anywhere. Coupled
with the
shades
of gray
color scheme and no windows, the occupant got the feeling of
inhabiting a plush cave. All in all, the effect was very pleasing
and comfortable.

"Paul,
you ready to do some exploring?"

"Sure
Jack, what'cha got in mind?"

"Well,
maybe Brian can get the door to function on command..." Brian
nodded,
"and we can come and go at will, y'know, scope things out."

"You
want to look for your dog."

"Yeah
well, it did cross my mind, but I figure food is important
and
maybe we can figure out if the natives are friendly or not. In any
case, it would be easiest in singles or pairs, because keeping five
people from being seen is just too much."

"It
would also give some of us a chance to rest while others are
out..."
explained Maria.

"Right,
so it's settled then, Paul and I are going out for a bit,
Bri'll
rig the door console and you three can catch some shut-eye."

Jack
and Pappy decided to leave the carbines behind, feeling
they
might be a burden to stealth or a hasty retreat if needed. Jack
hoped this would not prove to be a mistake.

Brian
removed the door's control pad from the interior wall, "Hold
on,
I'll have this open in a jiffy..." He worked with the
circuitry, "Ahh, here's the little rascal..." the door
swished open.

The
two security ops officers, standing on the other side of the
door,
were as surprised as the five people standing inside the suite to
actually be face to face with someone. Jack moved out of reflex and
instinct rather than conscious thought. Feinting to the right and
dropping into a combat stance, Steele had drawn the 1911 before the
two security people could comprehend the action.

Pappy
had no room to move in the doorway and so remained motionless, but
Mike Warren had managed to bring the muzzle of his carbine to bear,
past his Flight Leader's shoulder. He clicked off the safety and
watched one of the ship's security officers shift her eyes to his.

The
officers were holding their own weapons but made no attempt to bring
them up to action, which was the single reason they remained alive.
Jack had thumbed off the safety on the 1911 as he drew and his icy
stare told the security officer any hasty movement would mean her
death.

Time
seemed to be frozen, and for a while, no one moved or spoke.

This
gave everyone a moment to take a breath and absorb what they
were
seeing. The two security ops officers, had seen humans before and
knew them to be, what they were; kind and compassionate, but
cunning... and fiercely dangerous if challenged.
Jack and his group, however, had never seen an outworlder and no
amount
of sci-fi movie-going could have prepared them for this stranger
than fiction reality.
Raulya and her companion Myomerr, also a female, were members of a
bipedal
feline race, from a world known as Ketarus III. Raulya, standing in
front of Jack, was an inch short of six feet tall... and the taller
of the two Ketarians. Other than their tails and ears, Raulya and
Myomerr were very human-like in physical shape, especially since
they no longer had full body fur like their ancestors.

Raulya
had a thick, golden mane of hair sweeping across her shoulders
and
down her back. Wild curls hung in her face and fell across her
furless chest. Soft wisps of gold and chocolate striped fur
stretched from her mane and dissipated at her cheekbones. Her
yellow-green eyes gazed back at Jack intently while her little black
nose twitched with curiosity. Raulya's tongue darted out to lick her
dry lips, lips as human as Jack had ever kissed.
Myomerr's
mane and sparse fur, were charcoal gray with black
stripes,
her eyes a shiny platinum color. Both Myomerr and Raulya wore a
smart light gray uniform made of a clingy material which showed off
their sleek, muscular bodies.

No
one had moved for nearly half a minute, which can seem like an
eternity
when standing on the brink of death. Raulya could tell Jack's eyes
were no longer seeing her as a target but seeing her as a living,
breathing, feeling being. She would not foolishly take this as a
weakness but rather a strength of character.