Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (55 page)

Jack
nodded. "Ok, but wait until after dinner to eject it. I'll see
if
we can find out who they are, and we'll say a few words first."

The
mechanic had no idea what Jack meant by a
few
words,
but it
didn't
make any difference to him. "Sure, Captain, whatever you want."

The
pilots agreed to eat dinner and visit the infirmary before
taking
a third trip to the wreck. Ground crews ejected the empty life pods
and busied themselves doing prep and maintenance on the ships that
would be going back out. The pilots went to dinner. "I'm going
to the bridge to see the Professor first," said Jack, "I'll
meet you guys in the galley."

■ ■ ■

"Listen
Jack, I know you want to check out that wreck, see if there's
anything
on it we can use, Lord knows we need everything... but I think we
should move on."

Jack
sat in his command chair and scratched Fritz's head. "What's on
your
mind Walt?"

"I
just get the very distinct feeling that our
friends
will be
back.
And very possibly with some assistance." He could see the doubt
in Jack's face. "Let me show you why," he continued,
rotating a monitor on his console toward Jack. "We're here..."
he pointed. "Here's the gate we're heading to, it's about three
hours off. According to the logs on your fighters, that pirate
cruiser went this way..." He drew a line on the screen with his
finger, to another gate. "Towards this gate, less than an hour
away from his last position."

"Ok,"
said Jack thoughtfully, "what does that mean to us?"

"That
gate..." Walt hesitated, "goes to heavily patrolled pirate
territory."
He held up his hand before Jack could interrupt. "And I did a
bit of digging on that wreck out there. It looked familiar, but I
wasn't sure, I mean with all that damage..."

"What
did you come up with Walt?" interrupted Jack, growing a bit
impatient,
his stomach growling.

"I
believe that's a Royal Velorian freighter."

Jack
shrugged, "Ok..." The name meant nothing to him.

"I
only know, because I saw one when I visited Rathskell Spindle, a
spaceport
in..."

"Get
to the point, Walt."

"Oh
yes. Well... Royal Velorean freighters are very fast. Owned by
the
royal family of Veloria, they are usually reserved for cargo of
extreme importance. Sometimes diplomats, but usually rare goods,
even military equipment. We are like the proverbial Lion who has
stolen the prize of the Jackals. They will return with the pack."

Jack
sat perfectly still for a moment, staring at nothing. The
Professor's
concerns were well founded, but he just couldn't pass up a peek. It
was like finding yourself in the ladies locker room and not sneaking
a look into the showers. Half the thrill was getting away with it.
Jack snatched the wireless comm headset off his console and jumped
up. "Keep an eye on things, Walt." He trotted towards the
door followed by Fritz. "Leave us on yellow alert..." he
passed into the corridor.

■ ■ ■

"Pilots
to the infirmary, pilots to the infirmary." The pilots
stopped
eating when the page called and looked up, expecting more. "That's
Jack," said Brian.

"Wonder
what's up," said Paul, rising from the galley table. Brian
rose,
sandwich in hand. He picked up another, wrapped it in a napkin one
handed and carried it with the first.

"Still
hungry?" asked Mike.

Brian
shook his head. "Jack didn't eat yet..."

The
three pilots hustled down the hall, still eating what they could
carry
from the galley.

Jack
and Raulya were waiting outside the infirmary door when Mike,
Paul
and Brian arrived. Derrik was inside, still visiting with Maria.

Jack
gratefully accepted the wrapped sandwich from Brian. "Thanks,
Bri,
I'm really starving."

"So
what's up?" asked Paul.

"A
bunch of stuff. First, Raulya thinks these guys are pilots. And
quite
possibly military pilots..."

"Anybody
talk to them yet?" asked Paul.

"Not
yet," answered Raulya. "M7 was giving them an exam and
some
tests.
He's just finished.”

Alité
emerged from the infirmary doorway. She had bought Derrik and
Maria
dinner from the galley and was heading back to get food for the two
survivors as M7 had asked. "Ensign Arroyo is asking for you,
Captain." She was always conscious of proper protocol when
others were present.

"Thank
you Alité" replied Jack. He continued briefing the
others as
Alité
headed down the hall. "Anyway, the Professor did some records
checking and thinks that junk out there used to be a Royal Velorian
freighter..."

Alité
stopped dead in her tracks. She whirled around. "Did you
say
a
Royal
Velorian
freighter?"

Jack
was puzzled and a bit annoyed at another interruption. "Yes..."
She
left the galley cart in the middle of the corridor and ran back
through the confused pilots into the infirmary. After an odd moment
of exchanging blank glances, the pilots filed in after her. Alité
had pulled the curtain back that separated the two halves of the
room.

"Princess?!"
The pilot sat up in his hospital bed.

Alité's
eyes were wide like saucers. "Walrick..? And LaNareef! My
Lord!
I had no idea!" She stood between the two beds.

"Alité?!"
LaNareef opened his eyes and tried to get up. "We
thought
you were dead..."

"Lay
down you fool!" she scolded. "You're not well enough!"
Raulya,
Jack,
Paul, Mike and Brian, stood in a group behind her. Maria and Derrik
watched from the other side of the room.

LaNareef
laid back down and took her hand when she offered it,
kissing
it gently. He smoothed his silver blond hair and looked upon her
with devotion, his gray eyes sparkling. "It is good to see you
again. Your father will be delighted when you return."

Walrick
leaned over and reached for her other hand. She gave it
and
he pressed it to his face. "Home has not been the same since
you left."

"How
are Dakkah and Mozzy?" she asked. Neither man answered. "Do
things
go well?" she insisted.

"No..."
answered LaNareef. "The war goes poorly. The pirates
intercept
even our fastest transports. We have great difficulty getting
supplies to the Navy." He'd succeeded in changing the subject.
Though temporarily.

"So,
will neither of you tell me of my brother and sister?"

Jack
had moved closer and stood directly behind Alité. Both pilots
saw
the gold wings and the Captain's insignia. They each in turn looked
him in the eye, then cast their eyes down in silence. Then he knew.
Jack put his arms around her from behind, pulling her close against
him. She turned to look over her shoulder but he held her tight.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered softly. Jack had a flood of
questions, but now was not the time.

She
had let go of Walrick and LaNareef and reached back behind
her
to touch Jack's face. She clutched his hair and pulled his face
against her neck.
"Nnooo..."
she cried,
"nooo,
please..."

"I'm
sorry," whispered Jack. Her knees went weak but he held her
up,
one arm around her waist the other around her shoulders. He half
turned her and lifted her up, carrying her to the bed next to Maria.
He laid her on the bed and she sobbed into the pillow as he pulled
the covers over her. Jack clicked on the mic on his headset as he
walked back over to Walrick and LaNareef. "How do we look,
Walt?"

"Everything's
clear so far," came the Professor's reply.

"Thanks
Walt." He turned off his mic and faced the two Velorian
pilots.
"Gentlemen, I'm assuming since we both share the pirates as
enemies that we fight on the same side. With that in mind, we need
to know what's on your ship. What were those pirates after?"
The Velorians shifted uneasily. "C'mon guys," prodded
Jack, "would you rather the pirates got it?"

"Military
stores, supplies," answered LaNareef reluctantly. He
stared
down at the bed linens.

"What
kind?" If it was ground equipment, Jack decided he would just
destroy
it to keep it out of pirate hands.

"Tell
him." Alité swung her legs off the bed and sat up. "This
ship needs
equipment.
Tell him."

Walrick
looked at his hands then at Jack. As a Velorian Navy pilot,
he
was sworn to protect the secrecy of their operations, but he could
see no benefit in that now. "Lancia fighters, a couple of Zulu
gunships, missiles, parts, tools, food..."

"Nice..."
Jack fought the urge to celebrate though it felt like a win for the
Freedom, it wasn't a win for the Velorians, and that put him in a
sensitive position.
"Ok," he interrupted. "This is what Walt was afraid
of... the pirates know what's on that ship. They'll be back and they
won't be alone. We gotta' hustle." He clicked on his mic and
called Walt on the bridge and Trigoss in engineering so they could
listen to the briefing. "Pappy, you, Mike and Derrik launch,
pronto. Go to the far side of the debris field and sit on its edge.
You'll be hidden to their sensors just like they were to ours. Watch
for company, but whatever you do, don't get in over your head. Stall
em' and pull back. Go now." Derrik kissed Maria goodbye and the
three pilots hustled out and down the corridor. "Walt, the
first sign of anything, go to red alert. Trigoss, you're flying the
shuttle, take a few good men and your tools. Swipe anything you
need, but set demolition charges behind you. Three hours. Whatever
we can't take, we burn. Bri and I will get as many craft back to the
Freedom as we can."

"Let
me go too." Walrick swung his legs off the edge and got out of
bed. "I'm Ok, I can fly. Please,
I
want to help..."

"Me
too..." chimed LaNareef as he struggled to get up.

"No,"
ordered M7, "you're not well enough." He turned to Jack,
"Walrick
can go if he wants, he's fine. LaNareef needs rest."

"Thanks,"
smiled Jack. He extended his hand to Walrick. "Glad to
have
you." Walrick's grip was firm. "Trigoss, see you in the
flight bay." He switched off his mic and kissed Alité.
"Keep an eye on Maria for us, Ok?"

"Ok,"
she sniffed, "be careful."

He
stepped away and touched her face, staring into her eyes. Without a
word, he turned, dashing out the door
and
down the corridor. "I will!" he called. Fritz stayed at
her side.

"Princess..."

"Yes,
LaNareef?" She answered him without turning around, staring at
the empty doorway.

"He
seems like a fine man... do you love him?" He could not bring
himself
to look at her.

"With
every molecule of my mind and body," she breathed. She turned
to face the man who
had
promised to marry her when they were only five years old. "Now
tell me, old friend, how did my brother and sister die?"

LaNareef
looked up at her and shivered.

■ ■ ■

By
the time Jack, Brian and Walrick reached the flight bay, the
Warthogs
were gone and Trigoss had the shuttle warmed up and ready to go.