Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (18 page)

"You're
kidding," said Brian, deadpan.

"No,"
said Gant, sipping his tea.

"Geez...
isn't there a faster way?" asked Jack.

“
Yeah,"
added Paul, "I figured maybe a month or so, but one to four
years?
That's nuts!"

"Look,"
said Gant, "pilots are hard to come by out here, they make
exceptional
money, get a tremendous amount of respect, travel whenever and
wherever they please and generally lead privileged lives."

"You
make it sound so rosy," quipped Pappy.

"I
may be exaggerating, but not by much. Besides, I thought Humans
were
the pioneer type, ready for a challenge, fearless and all that..."

"Well,
we are..." said Jack, "but usually by choice."

"Don't
be so picky, my friend, an opportunity is an opportunity, no
matter
what form it comes in. Recognize it for what it is and take
advantage of it."

"No
offense, Captain, but I guess it doesn't seem like we have much
choice, does it?" r
emarked
Jack. “We're pretty much in it for the duration... whatever it
happens to be.”

"If
you're in, I'm in," said Paul, “like you say, it's going
to be a while...”

The
others concurred. "Sounds like an adventure to me!" said
Mike
with
a grin. Brian glowered at him, he was going to miss at least one
whole football season, and a Superbowl to boot.

Gant
smiled. "Good, it's settled then, we'll find quarters for each
of
you. On level three, of course, that's the same as the flight deck.
Oh, I just thought of something! Your air ships are probably worth a
great deal to a collector, I'll see if I can dig up a reliable
dealer for you before we get back to port. That alone could set you
all up quite well!"

The
four pilots agreed things could be worse and decided to make
the
best of things, after all, this was going to be home for a while.
After some thought and contemplation, Steele was beginning to like
the idea of selling Stephen's B25 out from under him and living well
off the cash proceeds... It seemed like more than a fair trade for
the Shelby Cobra he left sitting in that bastard's hangar. There was
a feeling of ironic justice to that.

Notified
by a crew member he was needed on the bridge, Gantarro
excused
himself and departed, leaving the pilots to finish their breakfast
and discussion. Fritz, looking freshly groomed, trotted up, tail
wagging, tongue lolling, and promptly began to beg for food. Jack
frowning, feigned anger, "Where have you been, mister?!"
In turn, Fritz feigned hurt feelings, he lowered his tail and ears,
put his face on Jack's lap and blinked his big brown eyes.
It
was a contest of wills and Jack was losing, he couldn't
stare
into those beseeching brown orbs and not react. Fritz knew this too,
and his tail began to tic slowly from side to side.

The
moment Jack's face cracked to a smile Fritz was up in his lap
licking his face, tail wagging madly. "Ok, Ok, I forgive you,
you rotten mutt! Now get off me and behave like a gentleman!"
Jack slipped Fritz two large pastries and a bowl of milk which were
devoured with pleasure.

Raulya
and Myomerr went on duty after breakfast, leaving Jack,
Brian,
Paul, Mike and Fritz to explore the ship, unguided. Maria seemed to
have vanished on her own and none of the pilots seemed to have any
comment.

■ ■ ■

After
shuffling a guest or two, the pilots were assigned four
consecutive
rooms in a corridor on the third level, overlooking the forest in
the Ecosphere. The Ecosphere Lounge, one level, almost directly
below, quickly became their favorite place to meet and dine.
The
four fliers sat at a table in the lounge after inspecting their
newly
assigned quarters. Jack moved their drinks aside and unfolded a
brochure he received from an olive-skinned ship's porter. Spreading
it on the table revealed a series of maps for the different levels
of the ship.

"Well,
looks like we're here..." said Jack pointing to the Ecosphere
L
ounge
on the map.

"What's
that? said Mike, pointing at a rather large room toward the
bow.

Most
of the symbols on the map were self-explanatory, but this
one
was completely unfamiliar, "Don't know," said Jack pulling
on his lower lip. "Looks important though, it's on five levels
according to this map." Jack looked through the index that had
been printed in English for the new human passengers. "Says
here, it's the C.H.A.I.R. room."

"Oh,
yeah sure, the chair room, I know what that is..." Brian
rolled
his eyes and slurped his drink.

"You
do? What is it?" asked Warren.

"I
was being sarcastic Mike, don't be an idiot, I haven't the
foggiest
idea..."

"There's
a note here, says CHAIR stands for Computerized Holographic
Assisted
Interactive Room."

"Oh,
that's a big help," said Pappy.

Jack
shrugged, "So, let's finish our drinks and go explore, that's
the
best way to find out."

The
men up-ended their drinks and stood. "I say, chaps," Jack
mused,
"shall
we walk 'round, or take the rail?" His attempt at an
aristocratic English accent was excellent.

"That's
a bit of a far plod, old boy, Wot?" Pappy grinned at Jack,
pleased
at his own attempt. "Time is of the essence, I daresay we
should take the rail!"

Jack
nodded approvingly, "Well done."

"Then
we're off!" Brian suggested.

"Tally-Ho!"
added Mike.

Fritz
bounced excitedly in circles and bounded off to lead the
way
to the air tubes.

Startled
offworlders stepped away, relinquishing the awaiting
air
car to the excited Shepherd and his four human companions. Fritz
jumped in claiming two seats all to himself as Jack and the others
seated themselves, waving to the apprehensive aliens to find seats.
None moved, declining his invitations. Shrugging, Pappy punched in
the destination and the car sped away, entering the Ecosphere and
passing between the trees and foliage. Fritz leaned over the side,
tongue hanging, to let the wind whip his face and watch the birds
zip past. Jack could see the waterfall cascading into an emerald
pool of water on the far side of the forest. Several nude forms
frolicked in the spray, but try as he might, Jack could not see more
detail through the trees.

Fritz
bounded out of the cockpit of the air car as it hissed to a
stop
and slid on the carpet in front of the CHAIR suites, scattering
strolling offworlders.

"Fritz!"
Jack snapped, "behave yourself!" the Shepherd shook his
hair
into place and sat, obediently waiting for Jack. The four pilots
climbed out of the car and headed for the entrance to the CHAIR
suite with the Shepherd following closely behind.

Jack
found it difficult not to stare at some of the more bizarre
looking
offworlders and voiced this quietly to the others who agreed whole
heartedly, laughing. It was quite amazing to see the different
shapes, sizes and colors. The four men were quickly becoming good
friends, and Jack was enjoying the camaraderie.

The
entry to the CHAIR suite slid open, and the pilots strode through
the
archway, into a hallway lined with art and colorful graphics that
oddly enough, resembled movie posters. Fritz wandered down the hall
to sniff an unusual piece of sculpture, something that resembled a
human but had a technical flair to it. Cautiously, the wary Shepherd
walked around it, inspecting it in great detail. Jack watched,
unmoving, "You pee on that buddy and I'll smack you!"
Brian, Pappy and Mike instantly burst into laughter. Fritz broke his
concentration and ambled away sheepishly, watching the statue over
his shoulder as if he expected it to move.

Still
laughing, the pilots turned their attention back to the
posters.
Fritz growled a deep-throated snarl and the four men spun, Jack's
hand already on the butt of the 1911 at his hip. "I'm terribly
sorry if I've startled you," said the moving statue, "I
would have greeted you sooner, but I was doing a systems check when
you entered."

Jack
called Fritz back to his side, who glowered at the figure
over
his shoulder disapprovingly. "Great way to get shot, pal...
say, what are you anyway?" Jack suddenly realized his rudeness.
"No offense intended."

"Oh,
none taken... my name is CABL 5..." His skin was a pallid
gray-white,
one eye socket held an infra red photoreceptor and he only had hair
on the very top of his head, a wavy shock of gold. In various
places, small tubes or strands of wire protruded from his skin only
to re-enter somewhere else. His voice sounded metallic and raspy.

"What
kind of name is CABL 5?" interrupted Brian.

"Well,
it's not a name exactly. It stands for Computer Assisted
Biological
Lifeform, and I am proud to be your host today and every day, here
at CHAIR."

"What
does that mean... exactly?" asked Pappy, rubbing his chin.

CABL
5 began to explain the word "host".

"No,
no, no," said Pappy, "your name, what you are..."

"
Oh!
Well, I was born a lifeform, and in adulthood, altered by means
of
electro-micro surgery. Wherein mechanisms, electronics and bio-chips
are permanently added to my being, so I may function more
efficiently."

"You
mean you
elect
to have this done?" Jack felt slightly indignant
that
an intelligent being would allow this to be done to his or her own
healthy body for the simple sake of efficiency.

“
I
do not know, all memories prior to the bio-work are erased."

"Wow."
The pilots exchanged puzzled glances. "Um, look CABL old boy,
tell
us about CHAIR, Ok? What is it?"

CABL
5 took the men into an open CHAIR suite and closed the door. In
the
small room about nine foot by nine foot, sat a solitary hi-back,
padded leather chair with a control panel on a pedestal. The pilots
clustered around the chair as CABL 5 switched on the control panel.
The room lights dimmed as CABL 5 initialized the panel and turned
into a three-dimensional holograph of an eerie, alien landscape.
Brian stepped away from the chair and reached forward but touched
nothing. CABL 5 explained; "Computerized Holographic Assisted
Interactive Room..."

"Ok,
Ok, we get that, and the image is fantastic, granted..." said
Brian
excitedly, "but what does it
do
?"

CABL
5 motioned to the seat, "If one of you would please be
seated..."
Mike
jumped forward and plopped into the seat. CABL 5 continued. "As
you can see, the computer's information is converted into a very
realistic, three dimensional world, including the vehicle in which
you have chosen to use." Jack looked down to see he was
standing through the middle of a wing on Mike's aircraft. "Now,
it's called interactive because you control the program," he
moved the acceleration handle and instructed Mike to use the control
stick on the module. The aircraft cruised above the surface of the
cratered red planet. The men were extremely impressed and said so.
"You can also smell and hear if there is an atmosphere to do
so, this is a dead planet, so there is none in the program. You may
also change the program, at will," CABL 5 punched some
memorized numbers and Warren was flying an intercept fighter into a
dense interstellar battle. "There are over a half a million
cataloged titles, and I can assist you in any choices, or even help
you write a new one."
Impressed
with his demonstration, the pilots thanked CABL 5 and
since
it was upon dinner time, excused themselves, promising to return
soon.