Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (24 page)

"Great!"
said Jack, "when do we start?"

Paul
shrugged, "Now’s a good a time as any. I need everybody
to fly
at
least one mission so I can tell where we're at, ability-wise..."
He walked back over to the console and sat down, "So... who's
next?"

Taking
turns, the pilots flew the simulator into the wee hours
of
the morning. Paul Smiley found himself surprised time after time at
the resourcefulness and tenacity of these untrained pilots in
combat. He decided there was a good deal of raw talent present, and
the possibility of creating a well trained combat squadron was not
as far-fetched as he had first anticipated.

Rubbing
his eyes, Paul rose from his chair behind the console,
"Let's
call it a night y'all, I'm pooped."

Jack
looked at his watch, "Shit, it is late, isn't it? Ok, let's
pack
it in, kids." The others rose from their various positions of
rest, yawning and stretching, as Maria climbed down out of the
simulator cockpit. Halfway down the ladder, Jack hefted Maria by the
waist and set her gently on the flight deck. "Nice flight,"
he said quietly.

Maria
flew harder than she had ever flown in her life. She was tense
and
exhausted, definitely in no mood for Steele's strange brand of
humor. "Look..." she said pointing her finger in Jack's
face. But she had known him long enough to know when he was ribbing
her, he'd get that mischievous look in his eyes... and it wasn't
there now. "You're serious aren't you?"

Jack
nodded loosely, "Yeah, you did good." He put his arm
around
her
shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

"No
kidding?"

"No
kidding..." he repeated as they walked. "Scout's honor."
He held
up
his hand in a Boy Scout salute.

She
smiled weakly, "Liar, you were never a Boy Scout..."

How
does everybody know that
he wondered, smiling back. "That's beside the point."

Late
the next morning, six tired, yawning pilots, wandered into
the
shuttle simulator bay in silence. They made themselves comfortable
and waited for Tee. The Saurian flight instructor never came, he had
abandoned his students. Mike rubbed his eyes with the palms of his
hands and spoke through a yawn, "Good goin', Jack, you probably
scared him so bad yesterday, he had a coronary after he left."

Jack
smiled mischievously, "Yeah, at this very moment, his body lies
face
up next to the toilet in his room, blue in the face, his tongue all
swollen and purple, hanging out the side of his mouth... and his
eyes so bug-eyed they look like two bloodshot golf balls stuck to
his face."

Maria
made a face of extreme distaste,
"Euuchhh,
that’s disgusting!"

"Thank
you," said Jack, pleased with his description.

"Actually,"
mused Derrik, "it would be a bit of an improvement on
that
little troll."

"You
men are sick, sick and cruel."

"Lighten
up Arroyo..." said Jack.

"Sure,"
interrupted Paul in a slow southern drawl, "we're just
funnin'."

"I
think we ought to go eat," said Mike, changing the subject.

"You
would," said Maria.

"Well,
I think we should go back to bed," yawned Brian.

Jack
nodded as he eyed Maria, "that gets my vote." Maria caught
the
intent of his gaze and turned away to hide her blush. She had to
bite her tongue to keep from smiling.

Paul
rose from where he had been sitting on the floor and stretched
his
arms above his head, "Well, y'all can do whatcha' like, but I'm
goin' to go eat,
then
I'm goin’ to back to bed." The group voted unanimously
for that idea and headed for the Ecosphere Lounge.

“
Mmm,
waffles...” smiled Jack, thinking ahead.

“
A
nice four-egg omelet and some crispy bacon... oooh and pancakes or
some French toast, maybe some sausage, juice...”

Jack
looked sideways at Mike as the group walked down the corridor,
“Seriously? Holy crap, do you have a tapeworm or
something...?”

Pappy
just shook his head and smirked.

PRINCESS
HEDONIST: DEPARTING TRELUS 2, LAN SYSTEM

This
was the first full day in about three weeks they'd given
themselves
off, and everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Jack
laid on the blue-green grass of the Ecosphere meadow floor,
the
picnic lunch Maria had made was resting warmly in his stomach. The
wine made his eyelids heavy and he let them close, feeling the
artificial sun on his face. Relaxed and at ease, the weight of
Maria's head on his chest was somehow reassuring.

A
few yards away Mike and Brian played catch. Fritz ran back and forth
between them trying to intercept the ball, creating an odd version
of
monkey
in the middle
and Paul and Derrik had wandered off after lunch to see if there
were any fish to be had in the pond at the far end of the Ecosphere.
Jack could feel Maria's even breathing and opened one eye to watch
the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Closing his eye, he sighed
quietly, drawing in the warm, sweet, air of the meadow and let his
mind drift...

Whether
measured by Earth standards or by the similar but elongated
ship's
version, time passed quickly. In comparison, travel in deep space or
the noticeable progress of such, was negligible in perception. This
created the illusion of taking forever to go nowhere. According to
Jack's log, the group of pilots had been on the ship for well over a
month already and had it not been for the rigorous combat flight
training they had imposed upon themselves, days would have drifted
from one to another without apparent hesitation. Their efforts were
not without rewards. With Pappy's expert tutelage, they had become
excellent fighter pilots.

Thanks
to the amiable assistance of CABL 5 and the use of the CHAIR
suites,
the pilots were able to practice formation flight and improve their
organized flight teamwork. Using computer software copied from the
combat flight simulator, CABL 5 linked several suites together to
allow the pilots to fly as a unit. Each pilot could see a fully
dimensional laser hologram of the other pilot's ships around him.
This proved to be a highly effective way of learning and created a
tremendous amount of cohesion between the pilots.

Not
only did they practice flight combat, Pappy ran them through a
series of exercises involving ground and anti-shipping strikes.
Jack was amazed at how close the pilots had become, almost like
real
family. Their affinity for each other was obvious in the way they
flew; viciously protecting each other in combat, even when it meant
putting themselves at greater risk. Along with the physical
application of practice was the studying... of ships and weapons
types... provided by research from CABL 5. The technical
specifications, uses, advantages and disadvantages, ranges, power,
durability and ammunition, when applicable. It was complex but
important and useful information.

Though
they spent much of their time working on their study and fighter
tactics,
shuttle practice did not suffer. In fact, a couple days ago, they
all did live flights to a beautiful snow planet called Trelus 2 in
the Lan System. While the Princess Hedonist did lazy orbits, the
shuttles ran for almost forty-eight hours straight, taking
sightseers to and from the surface of the sparkling planet.

Working
in shifts, the pilots flew over two thousand sightseers
to
the planet's surface and back. After the last shuttle had finally
been recovered and secured by the maintenance crew, Gantarro had
called the pilots to the bridge.

"Well..."
said Gantarro, standing with his hands clasped neatly
behind
him, "gentlemen... and lady," he added, nodding toward
Maria, "I want to congratulate you all, on a fine orchestration
of flights and a superb effort. Everyone was extremely satisfied."
A smile lit up his face as he began to clap, which started a round
of applause from the crew on the bridge. The worn pilots smiled
weakly and shifted uneasily, unaccustomed to grandiose attention.
Gantarro continued after the applause died down, "You people
did in two days, what it normally takes us six or seven to
accomplish. If you continue to operate with such efficiency, you may
actually get us back on schedule!" The pilots wanted to say
something, anything... but no one could think of exactly what.

"I
had a feeling you would be good pilots, but then I saw the logs
from
the train-sim in bay eleven..." He paused briefly and watched
the pilots' uneasy glances, "Mmmm, yes," he said, nodding,
watching their faces, "I knew, I knew right away... why do you
think Tee disappeared? I didn't want him interfering. That’s
why!" The Captain wore a devilish grin, "He's an anal
retentive, but he really is a good instructor... for beginners
though, you were obviously light-years past that. I knew that the
moment I saw your logs and tapes..." He slammed his hand down
on an instrument console, making everyone on the bridge jump, even
the group of pilots. "Dammit, if your records reflect your real
abilities in combat, you are some of the best damn fighter pilots I
have ever seen!"

Gantarro
took a small engraved steel box handed to him by an Ensign
of
the bridge crew. "I forwarded your flight files to a close
friend of mine in UFW's (United Federation of Worlds) Space
Academy..." as he held the shining box forward, the top slid
open with a hiss to reveal six sets of solid gold wings surrounded
by royal blue velvet. The pilots stared in silence at the gleaming
wings. "I am honored to have been authorized by the United
Federation of Worlds Space Academy, to present you with the
Wings
of Honor
."
The presentation was officious, but the Captain could not prevent
smiling like a proud father. "Y'know, only Academy graduate
fighter
pilots get
Wings
of Honor
and they are the only
gold
wings you will ever see."

Jack
had the sneaking suspicion he was wearing one of those struck-
dumb
kind of smiles. He looked at his friends, they all had it so it must
mean he was wearing it too. He hated that. Ah, but what the hell, it
was gratifying to have some occasional recognition. He accepted the
wings handed to him with a handshake. "Wherever you go, you
will be recognized as being part of a very special group," said
Gantarro, as he handed the pilots their wing, "and should you
choose to remain out here as part of a space faring society, you are
offered permanent positions with the United Federation of Worlds
with the following ranks," he pulled out a small piece of paper
and read from it. "Effective as of today; Paul Smiley -
Commander, Jack Steele - Commander, Derrik Brighton - Lieutenant
Commander, Mike Warren - Lieutenant, Brian Carter –
Lieutenant, Maria Arroyo - Lieutenant JG." The pilots proudly
pinned their wings on their tunics as they left the bridge and
headed for the Ecosphere Lounge to celebrate.