Pilot: Chapter 17

Chapter 17

They left the gray building and were greeted by a nod from Thomas and an open car door. Elena climbed in gratefully with Peter following. It was not until they cruised through the gates that Elena felt the tight coil of tension wound around her spine loosen.

“Did you think they would change their minds?” Peter chided her. She frowned at him.

“They could have.”

“It would have done them no good,” he reminded her. Elena dropped the argument. “I suspect you might want to run by the store?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind. I need to see if everything is okay and then let them know I won’t be in tomorrow either.” She glanced at her watch and realized the day was only edging towards the 4 pm hour. This day had seemed to last forever. Peter nodded and gave directions to Thomas. Elena quirked her eyebrow up, surprised he knew where her store was located. He looked at her expectantly and she decided questioning him about it would be of no use.

‘Besides,’ she thought. If he actually answered at all I still wouldn’t know any more than I do now.’

“After we stop by the business would you mind joining me for dinner, there are some things we need to discuss.”

“All right,” Elena agreed, a nervous feeling dancing in her belly.

‘I’ve already been asked to lead a military expedition. What more could the council possibly want from me?’ she asked herself trying to calm her nerves. It didn’t work. They reached the store and Thomas glided to a halt in front of the building. It is a no parking zone so Elena quickly hops out. To her surprise Peter joins her.

“I merely wish to see what sort of business you run,” he tells her. “After all if we are contemplating a business arrangement, is it not fitting that I see your business first hand?” he asked. Elena let the question go, knowing he had more than likely already seen her store.

“Feel free to look around,” she said turning away from him and towards the front door. “I shouldn’t be looming though.” She tugged the door open and stepped inside with Peter following. While he wandered off to browse she stood for a moment watching her people work. At the moment all of them were helping customers and from the looks of them they had a busy day. She can see the signs of fatigue and notices even Max is starting to drag a little. Emily finished with the customer she was helping and looked up.

“Someone will be around to help you in a moment, feel free to browse…” Emily cuts off her customer spiel as she realized it was Elena and she fairly bounced off of her stool. Elena waved off her excitement and walked over.

“Oh my god, are you okay,” Emily gushed. “I mean is your family okay? Do you need help with anything?”

“I’m fine,” Elena told her with a smile. “No one died, just one of those family deals where my presence was needed.” Elena was touched by the concern. Max and TJ finish with their customers and Emily rang them up as Elena repeated the same bit of info with the two men. After the careful considerations of the council, the simple warm caring of her staff made her feel welcome and warm. Emily spotted Peter browsing and followed him with her eyes for a moment.

“Hey he came in with you didn’t he?” she asked. TJ and Max turn to look at Peter. Peter calmly ignores the attention.

“Yes,” Elena confirmed, drawing their attention away from Peter. “He is an old family friend and he is looking for some outlets for his merchandise and a potential business partnership.” She figured this was probably the best and most simple explanation for Peter that she could come up with even though she knows that Peter would probably find such an assessment amusing.

‘But,’ she thought ‘When does Peter not find me amusing?”

“Well he is a mega hottie,” Emily told her. “You should totally turn on the charm and maybe end up with more than a business partnership.” Emily wiggled her eyebrows in what was supposed to be a suggestive manner and Elena laughed.

“I think we will just stick to business thanks,” she told Emily with a laugh. Privately she agreed with Emily. Peter was definitely attractive but it was the tiger in the wild kind of attractive. Pretty enough that you wanted to tough, dangerous enough that you knew trying would more than likely cost you a limb. The seasonal help and the temporary manager wander over as the people they are helping finish. Elena dropped the line of thought and moved back into business mode.

“I’m going to be out most of tomorrow in a business meeting,” She says. “Susan are you still able to stay through tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Susan replied and Elena smiled with relief.

“Great,” She said. A knot of customers had the bell over the door jangling and her staff scrambled to deal with them. Elena walked around the store as they worked and took note of the gaps in the displays and made mental notes regarding her inventory and what needed to be brought down. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Peter watching her and the look on his face was something she can’t quite place. When Susan finished with her customer Elena called her over.

“Every thing looks great,” she said.

“Thanks,” you have a great group of people here. And business has been pretty steady the last few days. If that’s any indication this season’s holiday rush is going to be insane.”

“It certainly seems like it,” Elena said. She glanced at Susan and realized it might not be too early to start planting seeds. If she was going to do any work for the guild than her business trips were going to be more frequent. She will need a more full time manager.

“If this business deal goes through,” Elena began. “I would need to be out of the store more often. While all this is very preliminary I was wondering if you would consider taking a more full time roll here? I don’t need an answer now obviously as the deal has not even been made but it is just a thought.”

“I’ll definitely think about it,” Susan said thoughtfully. Elena lets Susan get back to work and finishes making the rounds and meets back up with Peter.

“It looks very nice,” he commented.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Have you concluded your business?”

“Yes,” she replied. Her stomach gave a slight rumble and she realized she had not eaten that day. Heat flushed her cheeks.

“Then I suggest we leave.” He said. Peter held the door open for her and they exited the store. She never saw Peter signal Thomas and wondered if the man just had a good sense of timing because the black sedan glided up to the cub just as they were stepping out of the door. Thomas was behind the wheel. She shook her head realizing that this bodyguard minion thing could come in handy. She thought of all the things she could use someone like that for and wondered how you advertise for someone like that.

‘Do you take out an ad in the yellow pages? Send out postcards to bodyguard’s r us or maybe just go around stapling flyers to telephone poles and hold an open audition?” She laughed at her own thoughts and climbed in the car.

“So what restaurant would you recommend?” He asked as they pull away from the curb.

“Kind of depends on what you like to eat,” she replied.

“The food I leave in your hands entirely. However I would prefer something slightly more upscale as our conversation will require some degree of privacy and the tables tend to be further apart in places such as those.” He told her. “In booths one can not see over to determine who is listening in.”

“Somehow I can’t see you in a place that has booths.”

“I have been in my share of greasy spoons.” He sounded somewhat offended.

“Of course,” she replied. Personally she thought the ones Peter would frequent would be more small family run greasy spoons and not fast food joints. Somehow she couldn’t quite see him ordering a happy meal.

“Enzos,” should fit the bill. “My grandmother would have pronounced it hideously Americanized but I like it.”

“I can accept that,” he replied. Elena gave the directions to Thomas. They drove the rest of the way in silence. Thomas dropped them at the door and drove off to wherever it was he waited when Peter didn’t need him. Elena shook her head. The restaurant was mostly empty and it had just gotten dark enough for the wait staff to begin lighting candles on the tables. There was a soft glow about the place and Elena wondered at the wisdom of bringing Peter here as it seemed more romantic than business like.

‘Nothing can be done about it now,’ she thought. ‘At least the possibility of being over heard is slim.’

Pilot: Chapter 16

Sorry about the late post, Chapter 17 will be up in the morning. v

Chapter 16

“I suspect Smith will come back with a list of what is needed from us,” Peter said with a smile. “My apologies for monopolizing the conversation.” Elena turned towards him.

“I didn’t really have anything much to add,” she replied, and then caught the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “You’re enjoying this,” she said incredulously. She shook her head. “How could you be enjoying this?” She asked. He chuckled softly.

“How could you enjoy outrunning a Matoveran raider?” He countered. She smiled back at him.

“Adrenaline high.” She answered. He laughed and shook his head. The door opened and they both turned. Instead of Smith rejoining them, the young man from the front desk wheeled a cart in. On it was coffee, mugs and all of the accoutrements one would assume would come with a coffee service, sugar packets creamer and little red plastic stirring sticks.

“We are sorry for the interruption to your meeting. It may be a little while before your meeting can resume. We thought you might enjoy some refreshment.” He turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him, closing the door behind him. The coffee smelled great and Elena realized how draggy she was after the long trip and the nerves. She eyed the tray dubiously, remembering the fuzzy feeling around her brain from her last visit.

“I doubt they would poison it,” Peter says “Go ahead and have a cup. If you start looking crazy I’ll know.” She turned towards him and saw his smile was slightly mocking. She frowned at him but decided to have a cup anyway.

“They might not poison it but I have no doubt that they would have no qualms about slipping something into it.” She crossed the room to the coffee service and picked up a mug. She peered inside the mug and then wiped it out with the tail of her shirt. Peter laughed outright at her behavior, his laughter echoing in the small room. Elena felt the heat rise to her face.

“You wouldn’t be laughing if you were the one they drugged on the street in broad daylight,” she replied grumpily. Peter stopped laughing.

“Perhaps not,” he conceded. Elena poured the coffee into the mug and avoided the sugar and creamer packets. “I thought you usually added something to it,” Peter commented, indicating the cup. She grimaced.

“Usually all but the first cup has sugar and cream.” She resumes her seat.

“Ah,” Peter replied. She can tell from the amusement in his eyes that he still found her behavior funny. Personally she thinks that given the circumstances she is being quite practical. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him with a Herculean effort and sipped her coffee in silence. Elena was halfway through her cup when Smith returned with a folder in his hands. Elena could feel the amusement drain from Peter and felt him focus. Smith ignored the coffee and sat back down at the table. He cleared his throat as if calling their attention to him, which Elena found ridiculous since they both, turned towards him as he entered.

“We would like you to tell us everything you know about the Channels.” Even though she had expected something of that sort of request she burst out laughing and Peter smiled. Smith scowled at them both. “I fail to see the humor of my request.” He said dryly.

“I’m sorry,” Elena said. “But do you know how many years that would take? And that is only the bare surface of things.” Smith pressed his lips together in a thin white line.

“You are determined to continue with this project then?” Peter asked.

“Of course,” Smith answered stiffly.

“Very well,” Peter replied. “We can obviously not allow you to go off with misinformation. Why don’t you share with us all you know of the channels and we will correct your information? We would of course request compensation for such an act as private contractors.” All thoughts of humor left Elena in a flash at Peter’s words.

“Compensation,” Smith practically spits out. “I suspect it should be expected from people like you. I don’t suppose you would do anything for the good of your nation.” Elena snorted.

“The best good I could do for my nation is to walk out of here and not tell you a blessed thing,” Elena retorted. “A few of the military may be killed but it would leave the mass of my nation in tact.” Smith stared at her and she realized he had mostly dismissed her and had been talking to Peter.

“And I am not an American,” Peter replies calmly. Smith opens and closes his mouth a few times. Elena can see he is trying to control his temper. She realized he had been told he had a mission and an objective to complete and he is not about to let it go undone even if it meant reigning in his temper.

‘Interesting,’ Elena thought. She and Peter sat quietly while Smith calmed down.

“And exactly what sort of compensation would be required.” Elena was actually curious as to this point as well since they had only talked about how far the guild was prepared to go and not what they would ask in return she had no clue what they would ask.

“What the guild would ask for such a service would be quite simple,” Peter replied, knowing everyone listening was his eager audience. “We request that Ian Jensen be turned over to the council for questioning.” Smith narrowed his eyes.

“Why that would be your request?”

“He has given the military obviously false information that has lead to the death of several military personnel. The council wishes to find out the motivation behind these actions and to determine the extent of the damage done.”

“What would be done with Ian?” Smith asked.

“Ian will be allowed to speak on his behalf in front of the council and provide information about his motivation. If he believed the truth of the information then he will merely be chastised and his information corrected. If he did so with a malicious intent he would of course be sent to a disciplinary hearing.” Peter paused and smiled at Smith. It was a cat in the cream smile. “At such a hearing the military would of course be allowed to send a representative, since it was their personnel who were killed.” Smith was momentarily non-plussed.

“That actually sounds decent and very un-like what we know of your guild.”

“And what you know of us comes primarily from Ian, who we have already established as a faulty source of information at best,” Peter answered. Smith blinked hard a few times and sort of cocked his head to the side a little. Elena noticed that he now has a small earpiece in his ear and is no doubt listening to instructions from the other side of the glass.

‘I wonder if he will repeat it verbatim or translate it into something appropriate?’ Elena thought.

“How are we supposed to know that the information provided by you is correct and Ian’s information isn’t?”

“A very good question and as one would not expect the military to work on faith we are prepared to take up to two people of your choice through the channels on a trip so that they can see exactly what is truth and what is not.” Peter stated. Smith’s eyes opened wide and his eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline.

“You would be willing to do this? Smith asks. Elena could hear a slight buzzing and she realizes that some one is talking very rapidly into Smith’s ear. She can almost feel the waves of greed pouring off him. This was much more than they had expected to get from Peter and Elena or the guild in general and were somewhat at a loss as to how to deal with it.

“Why would you do this?” Smith asked, his natural suspicion rising to the surface.

“The reasoning is again simple. We would be willing to take the you on an excursion since that is the easiest way to convince you that the channels are not a military concern and not a matter of national defense.” Peter gestured to Elena “Ms. Calabrese would of course be your pilot. We fell that you will be most comfortable with her at the helm.” Smith’s gaze turned towards Elena and he studied her as if she were a bug.

“Is this true,” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered.

“You would be willing to take us through the channels? In your ship?”

“I am a pilot not a captain so the ship won’t be mine, but I would be willing to pilot the ship the council provides for the trip,” she replied. Elena sensed the approval of her words from Peter and figured letting the military believe she did not have access to a ship on her own was a good thing.

‘It helps that it is also true,’ she thought.

“When,” he asked, the word barked out more as an order and less like a question.
Luckily, Elena had been prepared for the question. She figured there was no harm in answering it.

“As soon as the channels have opened again for the season,” She answered. Smith snorted.

“So the Channels are like amusement parks?” He asked sarcastically. Elena looked over to Peter.

“They have not agreed to the terms but I do not suppose this bit of information will harm them,” Peter told her. She nodded and turned back to Smith.

“The channels vary in depth from season to season. During much of the winter they are of too shallow a depth to allow passage of even the smallest ship. Some of the channels are really only passable for a few short months out of the year.” She explained. “They don’t all close down at once but from Mid October to the end of January the channels are all more or less impassable. There is nothing we can do about that.”

“So February we would be able to go out with you?”

“Yes, if the council has a ship available,” she replied. “During the off months most of the ships are hauled out for repairs anyway. And time is needed to prepare for a trip of any length.” She added. Smith nodded and tapped his fingers on the desk thoughtfully. He tilted his head sideways again and they waited while he received instructions.

“And in the intervening months you would work with us. Correcting Ian’s information?” he asked. The question didn’t sound like something he would say and Elena guessed he was simply repeating questions verbatim. Elena turned to Peter. He nodded.

“Yes I would,” she answered. “However you must realize I have a business to run and would have to do it in the evenings.” Elena didn’t mind working with the military but she was not about to let her own business suffer. Peter smiled and she knew he understood exactly what she was thinking.

“Piloting is your business Ms. Calabrese.” Elena shook her head.

“It was,” she told him. “I retired. Now I run a business and have several people counting on me for their paychecks. I will not dismiss them just to assist you in correcting your information when I can just as easily do so after business hours.” Smith sat quietly listening for a moment, a frown creasing his face in heavy lines. He sighed as if accepting the inevitable and then nodded.

“I suppose this could be arranged,” he conceded.

“And Ian?” Peter asked.

“Much of our designs come from him so he will have to assist in going over them with you so that you understand what we are doing.” Elena realized the military did not want to turn Ian over to the council. They may have gotten some misinformation from him but without him they would not have known of the channels. They would not want to have to give up what might be perceived as their one advantage and a practical resource. Elena thought they would probably get over it since Peter was offering them so much more.

‘But that is Peter’s fight,’ she thought. ‘And not one he intends to loose.’

“I agree that he should be able to go over his designs and explain himself here, however the fact of the matter his actions have lead to the death of several good men and women and that must be explained to the council.” Peter stated. Smith listened for a very short while and then nodded again.

“Very well. We will have Ian explain his concepts and ideas to you and then agree to send him to the council.” Peter looked at Smith squarely.

“I believe we have an understanding. You may have a contract drawn up to firm up the deal. Both of us have had a long journey today and would appreciate a fuller discussion tomorrow. As there will no doubt be much to discuss perhaps Ms. Calabrese can be persuaded to take one more day away from her business and agree that all future meetings will take place after business hours?” Peter turned towards Elena.

“I can accept that for one day.”

“Thank you,” Peter said and then turned back to Smith. “Ian will explain all of what he has designed for you and explain his concepts to you. At the end of the meeting he will leave with me and accompany me back to the council where he will explain his actions. In the event a disciplinary hearing is decided you will be informed and be allowed to send a member of your organization to represent your interests. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes that sounds acceptable,” he replied. Peter stood and Elena followed suit.

“I would also expect you to bring a calendar to the meeting as well. Ms. Calabrese will do so as well and arrangements will be made for future meetings as well as a trip through the channels scheduled. You will of course understand that the holiday season is a busy one for those with businesses such as Ms. Calabrese’s and a schedule will assist greatly for planning purposes.” Peter reminded Smith. Smith stood to face Peter. Elena was both impressed and flattered that Peter had thought of her schedule by giving her business equal importance with both the needs of the military and the needs of the council.

Elena glanced at Peter. She was beginning to realize that she was now considered as once again part of the guild. This was not the kind of consideration that one gave to an outsider. It was something that you only gave to a member of one of the families. She was a little unsure about how she felt about being automatically welcomed back in but over all she suspected that given the situation it could have been a lot worse.

Elena and Peter made their good byes and to Elena’s relief they are allowed to leave with no problems. The military agreed to the terms at the start but she wonders how long this condition will last.

‘Probably just until after the trip through the channels,’ she guessed. ‘I suspect my world is going to be a lot more interesting than I bargained for.’

Pilot: Chapter 15

To Elena’s relief Peter passed the rest of the journey in phone conversations and typing e-mails. She relaxed as much as she was able and simply watched the landscape slide by. The monotony of the drive let her slide into a dull haze where many unsettling futures loomed.

“We will be there soon,” Peter said interrupting her thoughts.

“I know,” she replied. “I can see the skyline.”

“Of course,” Peter answered, flushing slightly around the neck. Elena smiled at him. Who knew the council member could blush.

“Your accent thickens a bit when you have been speaking Russian a while,” she commented. He looked surprised and sucked air in through his mouth as if washing his accent down his throat.

“We will proceed straight to the military base,” he told her. His voice held no trace of an accent now and it was Elena’s turn to be surprised.

“Straight there?”

“Yes. No doubt they have noticed your absence overnight and have your home watched for when you return. Your place of business as well. If we go to one of these places first they could grab you and have the meeting at their convenience. If we go straight to them, beard the dragon in it’s den so to speak then the time is of our choosing.”

“I see,” Elena said. Her stomach dropped down into her toes and she could swear her heart stopped in her chest.

“I will be with you, there is no problem,” Peter reassured her. “Just think of me as your legal council. I am there to negotiate on your behalf. You do not need to say a word.” Peter reached across the seat and patted Elena’s knee. Privately Elena thought Peter’s priorities were first the council and then himself followed by his family’s wellbeing. Her welfare was only of importance as it related to the other priorities.

‘Although I’m not sure that’s the correct ordering of his priorities,’ she thought. ‘At least as long as I am a potential business partner with council sanction then I should still fall under his safe range. The trick is to keep it that way.’

Thomas wound the black sedan through the city streets, negotiating traffic and taking turns like a long time resident.

‘Either he has been here many times before or he has some kind of GPS unit up front.’ Elena leaned forward a bit to peer into the front seat. She didn’t catch sight of any electronic direction producing equipment. She leaned back in her seat.

“Something wrong?” Peter asked.

“Does Thomas drive only for you?” she asked before she could talk herself out of it.

“Thomas does many things for me.” Peter replied with a smile. In the rear view mirror Elena caught the edge of a slight smile on Thomas’ face. It was not a smile that made her think of sunshine and daffodils.

“I meant does he drive for anyone else other than you, not what his general skill set included.”

“Oh, well yes he dives only for me. Just as Marcus drives only for your grandfather.”

“So you never loan him out?”

“Are you thinking you need a driver for something Ms. Calabrese?” Peter’s voice was slightly mocking. “While Thomas is an excellent driver I’m sure we could find someone else suitable for you should you like.”

“I was not thinking of myself actually,” Elena replied with a slight smile of her own. “But your brother.”

“Nicolas?” The name burst forth from Peter’s lips with a laugh. “Why on earth would you be thinking of him?”

“Well Thomas knows his way around my city so well, I would have thought you might have loaned him to your brother when he came to visit here.” The smiles dropped from the faces of both men.

“As I said, Thomas has many skills.”

“Of course.” Elena turned to look out of the window as they drove. She caught Peter’s expression in the glass and saw he was looking at her with the same calculated appraisal he had given her at dinner the night before.

‘I should have kept my mouth shut,’ she thought to herself with a sigh. ‘There was no reason to point out I knew he had been here routinely.’ She could admit to herself it was the 'don’t worry little girl, I’ll take care of everything' attitude that had gotten under her skin.

‘Never mind that I hope he does take care of everything, he didn’t have to be so snarky about it.’ The sedan left the busy city streets and headed down the road to the base built just west of the city. Elena swallowed hard and reminded herself not to bate Peter. The sedan pulled up to the gate and Thomas rolled down his window. They were asked their business.

“Elena Calabrese and guest to see Smith and McMillan,” Peter told Thomas, who repeated the information for the guard.

“Smith and McMillan?” the guard asked, skeptically.

“Those were the only names I was given,” Elena replied with a shrug of her shoulders. The guard stared at her over Thomas’ shoulder for a moment and then retreated to his guardhouse. Elena assumed he was calling someone else who would either have enough information to let them pass or give him confirmation to tell them to go to hell.

‘This is a bad idea,” she muttered under her breath. Peter just smiled and patted her leg. A few seconds later the metal gate began to slide open and the guard popped out of his house like a little cookout.

“Head straight down this road and take a left at the intersection. It will be the third building on your right. Someone will meet you there,” the guard informed Thomas. Thomas thanked him and when the gate was sufficiently wide enough he drove through. Following the guards instructions brought them to the same building in which she had awoken a few days earlier. A man who was neither Smith nor McMillan awaited them outside its doors. Thomas stopped the car in front of the building.

“Stay with the car,” Peter told Thomas. Thomas nodded once and turned off the engine. Elena exited one side of the car and Peter the other. They walked around the car to where the man stood.

“You will please come with me,” the man said. He turned and led them to a gray metal door. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, trusting Elena and Peter to follow him. Peter stepped in front of Elena and held the door open for her to pass then followed her into the building. They were led into the same conference room and Elena felt sick to her stomach, wondering if she would be as easily able to leave this time.

“They will be with you shortly,” the man said. This time he held the door for both of them and then shut the door behind them. Elena had the feeling if she tried the door handle it would be locked. She reached for it anyway, twisting the icy cold stainless steel knob.

“Yup, locked,” she muttered. Peter calmly walked to the conference table and took a seat at the center of the table and facing the door. He looked like a king awaiting the arrival of merchants with a proposal he had decided to grant an audience.

‘And that’s probably how he thinks of this too,’ she thought. Elena took a seat to Peter’s right.

“They will make us wait of course.” Peter told her as she settled herself in the chair. “They wouldn’t want to look too eager.” Elena simply nodded.

Worry, not only for herself but for what might have happened in her absence tangled in her mind. Were TJ, Max, Emily and the rest okay? Had they been harassed while she was gone? Had her store been bothered, her customers driven off? She pictured her apartment. Had it been torn apart when the military went looking for her? Had they found her satchel beneath the floorboards?

‘Why didn’t I think to take that with me?' she asked herself. In the back of her mind she knew she had feared the council would take those few things she kept with her away to protect themselves. She was not ready to give up the things in that satchel to the military or the council. ‘And now that there is a chance I will be piloting again I’ll need them,’ she thought.

She shook the thought away, returning to the channels was something to think about later. Elena resisted asking Peter how long he thought the military would make them wait. She knew the answer any way. They would make them wait as long as they felt necessary to get their point across. There was no need for her to sound like a petulant child. She glanced towards the large mirrors. ‘Especially with an audience.’ Time ticked past and Elena fought to look as calm and serene as Peter. There was no need for him to see her falling apart either.

As she waits the nerves quiet a bit and anger begins to seep in. ‘Childish,’ she thinks to herself. ‘Isn’t it enough that I am here?’ The door opens and Smith enters the room, shutting the door behind him. He is dressed identically to the other day and Elena found herself thinking his closet must be a very drab place.

“So Ms. Clabrese, who do I have to thank for the honor of this little visit of yours?” Smith started, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Is this merely a social call or can I dare to hope that you have come to your senses and have decided to render aid to the brave men and women missing in action?”

“Your people are dead,” Peter replied before Elena could open her mouth. His voice was flat and cool and held no trace of an accent. “And harassing Ms. Calabrese will not bring them back.” Smith frowned at Peter.

“And who the hell are you?” he asked, his hands balled into fists on his hips.

“I am a member of the Council of the Guild of Families,” Peter informed him. “And if you would be so kind as to take a seat I will explain a few things to you.” Elena thought the words very combative and wondered at the intelligence of antagonizing Smith. To her mind it was rather like slapping a bear when he had you backed into his cave. Smith jerked a chair away from the table and sat down in it. He steepled his fingers on the table and narrowed his eyes at Peter.

“So why don’t you go ahead and explain things to me,” Smith replied. His voice was deadly soft.

“In trusting Ian Jensen you have made a grave mistake,” Peter began.

“And why is that to you believe Mr. Councilman? So far it has worked out pretty well for us.”

“Really,” Peter replied, a question in his voice. “Twenty-six dead is working really well? Interesting.” Peter cleared his throat. “Your first mistake in trusting Ian is that he is not even a pilot.”

“You may have grounded him but he is still a pilot,” Smith proclaimed. Elena let out a bark of laughter she was unable to stop.

“Sorry,” she apologized as Smith turned storm filled eyes to her.

“Ian Jensen is not a pilot, nor has he ever been a pilot,” Peter said in a very patient voice. “And because he did not receive the training a pilot receives he did not know that the channel he tried to access had been sealed for over 100 years. A channel I might add that is far from the area of water you pointed out to Elena on your map I might add. Anyone attempting to access the sealed channel would slam their hulls into the barrier and the entire crew would be lost.” Peter folded his hands flat on the table and stared at Smith. Smith was clenching his jaw with such intensity that Elena thought his teeth would crack.

“Now when Ms. Calabrese was informed of the incident she knew that very little of the information you provided her with was accurate and she was at a loss as to her course of action,” Peter continued. “After all if she had said she would help she would have given false hope to the families of the men and women who died aboard the USS Navigator, something she felt was unconscionable And any information she gave to you would potentially put more of your people at risk as you attempted faulty implementation. Therefore she determined the best course of action would be to report the matter to the Council and follow proper channels to see its resolution.”

Elena was beginning to feel like the well-defended client of a high-powered attorney. At this point Peter paused again and Smith looked at him in surprise. His gaze flicked over to Elena and turned speculative. Elena resisted the urge to scowl. She was getting rather tired of people looking at her and wondering how they could use her in one of their schemes.

‘Maybe I ought to get my own schemes and see how they like being caught in them,’ she thought grumpily.

“Now, as you asked Ms. Calabrese to help you deal with the matter of the missing crewmen and she has, I fail to see what further business you have with her,” Peter continued. “I would however suggest that you think seriously about what you are doing before listening to any more of Ian Jensen’s ‘technical information’.”

“This is a military concern a matter of top priority and defense,” he bellowed.

“How?” Peter asked. Smith sputtered unaccustomed to people questioning him especially on matters of national defense.

“Who do you think you are questioning matters of National Security,” he demanded. Elena could practically see the words Nation Security come out of his mouth in capitol letters.

“I am someone who knows the channels, their history and their usage,” Peter calmly replied.

“Are you a pilot then?” Smith asked.

“No,” Peter replied with a bit of a laugh. Elena smiled. “And the fact that you would even ask that t is proof that you know too little about the channels to go mucking about in them. Elena as you have been told is a pilot, one of our better ones as you may have deduced.”

“So you believe you know better than us about these channels?” he asked stiffly. In addition to the clenched jaw, Elena can see his face is becoming suffused with splotches of red, which she can only assume is repressed rage.

“Quite frankly, yes. Do you intend to abandon this project or go ahead with it?” Peter asked. Smith’s attention was focused on Peter and Elena felt she might as well not even be in the room. She wondered if either man would notice if she just slipped out and let them continue.

‘Of course it isn’t like I have anything to add. Peter is doing very well with it. Besides,’ she thought. ‘This is why people hired high-priced attorneys in the first place.’ She also found it fascinating to watch Peter work. “Not at all like Grandfather.’ Sending her grandfather into this discussion would have been an unmitigated disaster. He was a captain, plain and simple. Used to giving orders and having them followed.

A discussion like this needed the skills of a politician, which Peter had. Elena had the feeling any discussion between Smith and her grandfather would quickly degenerate into a shouting match that ended only when one asked the other to step outside. Debate did not seem to be either of their strong suits.

Even though Elena had a vague sense of where he may be going with his conversation she was not sure how Peter would end up getting there. She decided this was a match best watched instead of interfered with. She would no doubt get her turn.

“We have no intention of giving up something that is of such importance to National Defense,” he sputtered in indignation. Elena got the impression that he really liked using those words. It made what he had to say sound important rather than petulant.

“Very well then” Peter said. “I can see we must therefore reach an agreement.”

“An agreement!” Smith practically screamed. “You want to reach an agreement? You will do what is needed.”

“You haven’t actually told us what it is the military requires,” Peter calmly pointed out. “Ms. Calabrese was asked to help determine the fate of the missing crewmen and if possible to assist with a rescue. Despite misinformation we have determined that all of the crewmen are dead and no rescue mission is actually needed. You have not asked us for further use.”

Smith’s red face darkened to nearly purple. A slight tapping sounded at the door before he could retaliate. Smith spun in the direction of the door and ground his teeth. He glanced to the mirror and Elena’s earlier paranoid fears about the mirrors being two-way glass were confirmed. He got up and walked to the door where he was given a note that he very quickly reads. Smith let out a long breath and turned back to Elena and Peter.

“Please excuse me for a moment.” He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

“And the bell rings for Round 1,” Elena muttered.

Quick note

As many of you have noticed February has been a bit shaky. I am traveling most of this month so I am sometimes catching the internet where I can. I am also cursing hotels that claim to have wi-fi but in fact do not. So for the month of february I will be posting three chapters a week but they may not always be on MWF. I'm sorry if that screws anyone up. Once March 1 hits things should smooth out considerably. Feb just got jammed. Chapter 15 will post first thing tomorrow morning with chapter 16 close behind. v

Pilot: Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Elena followed Peter onto the deck and was handed into the skiff she had come to the ship in by the same unnamed man who had brought them. Peter introduced him as Thomas and she got the impression he served Peter in the same capacity as Marcus served her grandfather. The ride to the shore was quiet, and Elena basked in the scent of the sea. When she had ceased piloting she had moved inland, away from the temptation the sea represented. She had missed it.

She looked around as they moved but could still see no markings to tell her exactly where she was. It was simply a port. She was certain their approach was intentional. Once on shore she followed Peter and Thomas to a black sedan. Thomas took her bag and placed it in the trunk while Peter opened the door for her. She slid into the back of the car. Peter joined her while Thomas got behind the wheel to drive. Elena felt her nerves start to jump. He may have been nice to her and technically on her side at the moment but Peter had a ruthless reputation.

‘Best not give him a chance to show me if the rumors are true or not,’ She thought.

“There is no need to be nervous,” Peter said with a smile. She wondered if he could read her mind.

“So you know exactly how you are going to deal with the military? A clue as to how you will manage to get them to back off?” She asked.

“Of course,” he replied.

“I don’t suppose you would care to share this information?”

“Its really quite simple,” he said with a smile. The smile didn’t make him look friendly. It somehow made him look dangerous, like a shark smelling blood. “We are going to give them just enough information to let them know their plans are not feasible.”

“And they are just going to look at you and say, Gee thanks Mister for setting us straight. We won’t be bothering you any more.”

“Not exactly,” Peter said laughing. “We are going to invite them to join us on a trip through the channels.”

Elena stared at him, dumbfounded. “Could you repeat that?”

“We are going to allow them to go through one of the channels,” he repeated slowly.

“I thought that is what you said,” Elena tapped her thumb on her knee. “And this is going to make them not want to go back into space? They are going to see our ports and the trade routes and they are going to want no part of it?”

“Oh I’m sure they will want a part of it. But we will show them that for the purposes they are no doubt trying to use the channels they are completely unsuited.”

“I see,” Elena said hesitantly. Obviously she was in the presence of a madman.

“You are humoring me,” he said. “Don’t worry it will all be taken care of.” Peter cleared his throat. “I should warn you though, we would like you to be the pilot for this excursion.”

“Me?” She asked

“Yes. We figured since they already knew you it would be pointless to let them see another pilot. Besides, your record is quite astonishing. And you are one of the few adult American pilots. We thought it would be best to keep this in one country. No use getting everyone’s military involved.”
“And you are not worried about The Calling?”

“Not really,” he said waving away her concern. “I have studied the research and do not believe The Calling to be an illness. I believe it to be more of an evolutionary process.”

“Growing pains,” Elena said, remembering what the two council members had said. Peter didn’t comment. Elena shook the thought away and looked at Peter. “And if I decide I don’t want to take a ship through with the military in tow?”

“You won’t decide that,” he told her. She raised an eyebrow.

“You are certain?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Because if I don’t you will slice the muscles in my thumbs to make them useless?” Elena asked. Peter laughed.

“Where did you dig that story up?” he asked.

“Is it not true?”

“Oh yes it is quite true, but it was long ago.” Peter thought for a minute. “Besides, you are not stealing from me and while you no doubt use your hands your trade does not depend on them.”

“Oh,” Elena said, unsure what else to answer.

“You will pilot the ship because it is the only way to get the military to leave you alone,” he said, clarifying his earlier statement.

“So you say,” she replied.

“I say because it is true.”

Elena decided to let the conversation drop. Personally she didn’t see how confirming that she knew how to pilot would get Smith and McMillan to back off but she could only hope Peter was right. Her only other option at this point would be to leave everything she had built and disappear. Not exactly her favorite option.

“We do have another offer we would like you to consider,” Peter said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Oh?”

“As I said before, your record as a pilot is quite remarkable. Even if you didn’t want to return to piloting you have many skills. Skills that could be used to train others. We have a shortage of trainers.”

“That would require that I pilot,” Elena said thinking of her training under Deana Lang.

“Not necessarily,” Peter said shaking his head. “There are many skills that can be taught without setting foot on a ship.”

“True,” she answered.

“I’m not asking you to decide now of course. Just something to think about in the future. When things settle back down. After all you will be quite busy. Not only do you have a business to run but you will be acting as an intermediary for the council. I have no doubt that would take several months.”

“Months?” Elena squeaked. Peter laughed.

“Of course. You didn’t think this business would be over so quickly did you? After all they will want to talk and try to explain how they are right and we are wrong. They will not truly understand it is the other way around until they are shown and to show them we must take them through the channels. It is, as you pointed out yesterday, far too late in the season to do so now. It will have to wait until the spring.”

“Spring is usually when I schedule my buying trips.” Elena mused. Of course if she were to take her grandfather up on his offer of a business partnership some of those buying trips might be off world. So far she had put off thinking about that. Too many things for her to think about.

“Really?” Peter asked. “I was going to ask you about that.” There was a gleam in his eye and Elena knew he was on the same page with her grandfather. Perhaps though he simply wanted her connections and not a business partnership with her.

“Were you?” She asked.

“Yes, when my brother visited he told me that many of your wares were from distant places and not many were from large scale business operations. Many were from individual craftsmen or artisans. Is this true?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “I like dealing with them more than the corporations.”

“No doubt your grandfather has spoken to you on the subject of business arrangements?”

“He asked if I would be willing to consider it.”

“I see,” he replied. “And are you willing to consider it?”

“Yes I am willing to consider it.” She said warily.

“Then I would ask a favor. A personal one rather than a council one.” He smiled and Elena realized he was trying to be charming. She also realized he was quite good at it. He had the kind of looks that danger sat well on. “I would like for you to consider adding me as a partner as well. It should be a grand enterprise and I would like to get in on the ground floor as they say. Since the territories my family’s ships trade with are different than the ones your family trades with there should be little over lap. Will you consider it?”

“I will consider it,” she told him. “However I would like to get this pesky little problem taken care of before I start a new venture.” Idly she wondered how badly the globalization of the market had hurt the guild if two council members were willing to make deals.

“Of course, of course.” They lapsed into silence. She looked at him wondering what else needed to be said. Peter started as if he had just received a jolt then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a blackberry.

“Vibrate,” he told her indicating the device. “Do you mind?” he asked before answering.

“No go ahead,” she told him, pleased that he had the manners to ask before answering. Very few people did anymore. He answered the call and began speaking in rapid Russian to whoever was on the other end of the line. Elena didn’t speak Russian but figured even if she had learned he would be going too fast for her. Elena turned to look out of the window. They were driving down a long stretch of highway with tall trees lining both sides of the road, making it a long corridor of greens and browns with no distinguishing features.

Secretly Elena hoped Peter’s call took a long time. They had several hours left in the car and her head was already too full to take any more. Besides, what exactly was she supposed to talk to him about? Random questions popped into her head but they weren’t the sorts of things she could ask. She doubted he would answer anyway.

‘And if he did the answers wouldn’t be ones I would want to hear.’ She thought. While it might be interesting to know how to keep a torture victim conscious throughout the process it was not comforting to be locked in a car with someone who had that knowledge. She shifted her sight so that she was looking at Peter’s reflection in the glass rather than the outside scenery.

‘Well you did ask for the dangerously attractive leading man,’ she thought. ‘I ought to be more careful when sending wishes out into the universe,’ she thought. ‘You never knew when it was actually listening.'

misplaced flash drive

Currently my flash drive has gone AWOL. I will be looking for it at lunch and after work. if I locate it at lunch I will up load today's chapter this afternoon. If not then first thing tomorrow morning. Wednesday's chapter will also be uploaded tomorrow as I am going to be far from internet access for most of wednesday. Sorry for the trouble. Valerie

Pilot: Chapter 13

Sorry for the dalay folks. Life interupted.

Chapter 13

Elena stood in the doorway of her assigned suite and blinked. For a moment she felt as though she had stepped into a 1950s movie set. Looking around she half expected Marilyn Monroe or Jane Russell to walk by. She shut the door behind her and began taking stock. Everything was polished to a high gloss. To the right of the doorway was a wet bar inset into the wall. She opened the cabinet above and found a wide assortment of liquors. They had been poured from their store bought containers into crystal decanters of varying in shapes and all had little silver nameplates proclaiming their contents. The decanters themselves were fitted into cushioned forms to provide stability and to keep the bottles from clinking together. Elena closed the cabinet.

In the corner sat a mahogany desk. It had a leather edged blotter, with matching pen holder. Stationary emblazoned with a raised golden L sat atop the blotter. Elena pulled a pen from the holder and tugged off the cap. As she suspected the pen was a fountain pen rather than a ball point. She replaced the cap and returned it to its holder.

“Apparently they aren’t really worried about the guests stealing the portable items.” She said picking up a large silver lighter. “More like a paperweight,” she mused flicking the lighter on. “Looks like something Humphrey Bogart would use.” She replaced it on the desk. Elena didn’t bother to open the cigarette case beside it but the small canister behind it interested her. It was the size and shape of a cotton swab holder. It was silver, like the rest of the smoking set and had a little knob on the top of its lid. She pulled the knob and the lid rose. It had a rod attached to the center of it and leading to a fitted base. When it slid up, matches fanned out around the center rod.

“Interesting,” she said closing the match case. She vaguely recalled seeing something like it in The Maltese Falcon. “I think that one was for cigarettes though. I wonder why you would have matches and a lighter?” She flipped open the box placed at the corner of the desk and found it full of cigars. Dimly she recalled her grandfather saying something about always lighting cigars with matches. “Something about the taste,” She muttered. Elena shrugged, closed the cigar box and moved away from the desk.

She opened the door next to the desk and found it to be a closet. Padded satin covered hangers were placed on the bar and a rack for her luggage was placed below. The few clothes she had brought for this trip were hung up on the hangars and her empty bag was on the rack. It looked rather deflated. Elena knew they meant nothing personal by unpacking her bag and were in fact helping her keep her things from wrinkling rather than rummaging but it still felt like an invasion of privacy.

“Next time I’ll have to remember to put anything personal in my purse,” she said closing the closet door. She took two steps towards the bathroom door and stopped herself. “Next time,” she repeated. Elena rolled her eyes at the thought, hoping there really wouldn’t be a next time. She pushed the bathroom door open and found her toiletry bag placed on the built in vanity. The modern waterproof travel bag looked out of place next to the silver containers filled with cotton swabs and cotton balls and cut glass perfume bottles. The bathtub was nearly big enough to swim in and the toilet tucked discreetly behind a half wall. A silver rack piled high with fluffy towels sat next to the bathtub, as did a small rack containing bottles of bath salts, oils and bubble baths.

Elena decided she would try out one of them in a long soak before bed. She picked up each bottle and pried the cap off to test the scent. She decided on some pink crystals that smelled of rose. Elena turned on the tap and tossed a handful of the bath salts under the pounding water. She returned to the bedroom while the tub filled. The only item not investigated was the bed. She fervently hoped it too was not a hold over from the 1950s. She sat down on the bed and sank into softness. Apparently the Lorenzo had followed the trends of other more commercial cruise lines and gotten top of the line bedding. Elena glanced over at the two items on the bed with her. The first was a leather bound notebook with a hot pink post-it note attached. She reached over and pulled the notebook towards her. The post it note was short and to the point.

“For recording information about your dreams,” she read aloud. There was no signature. “Apparently they aren’t wasting any time.” She set the notebook down on the night stand and pulled the second parcel over to her. It was wrapped in brown paper and ties with a string. She shook her head wondering what store other than a meat counter actually wrapped up parcels like that any more. “And with the meat they use stickers instead of string.” She untied the string and opened the paper. Inside the brown paper was lavender tissue paper that smelled of lavender. She folded it back and found she was holding the underwear she had asked Regina to secure. It was a matched set festooned with black lace and pink accents running through it.

“At least the lace is soft and not scratchy,” she commented. “She walked over to the closet, opened the door and set the underwear on top of her empty satchel. “And at least I brought dark clothes for tomorrow so the bra won’t show through the cloth.” She closed the closet door and decided a long soak in the bathtub was in order.

By the time she crawled out of the bathtub she felt boneless and sleepy. The exhaustion of the last few days swamped her and she wearily pulled the covers back and climbed into bed. Elena snuggled down into the softness and closed her eyes, unsure if she wanted to dream or not. Within moments she was asleep.

Elena awoke from her dreams, with her head pounding. She pushed her hands to the side of her head as if trying to keep her brains from exploding out of her ears.

“I wonder how long I have to pay attention before the pain clears?” She muttered. The dreams as usual were a jumble of flashing images. Already they were slipping away. Remembering her promise, and the promise of possible pain relief she slid out of bed and picked up the provided notebook. She walked over to the desk, sat down and picked up a pen. Elena stared at the notebook and ran her fingers over the leather of the cover. Somehow the book looked official. She almost wished the council had given her a simple spiral bound notebook to jot down her thoughts.

“They wouldn’t seem as real,” she thought. Elena opened the cover and began to jot down her thoughts. It didn’t take long as the images were just random snapshot of places she had never seen jumbled together. ‘It is as if I were looking at someone’s holiday photographs through a cheese cloth,’ she wrote. “I had the impression that all I had to do was pull the cloth aside and I could see down the pathway the same as I could with a regular channel.’ Elena looked at her words and thought about scratching them out. They seemed so silly. After all that isn’t the way the channels worked. A pilot didn’t just create channels; they piloted the existing ones.

The paragraph she placed in the notebook was brief and somewhat disappointing. She shrugged off the disappointment. She knew better than to thing all of life’s great mysteries would be solved in one sitting. Elena closed the book and decided to see if any coffee was available to dull the pain in her head. She dressed in the new under garments and the clothes she had brought with her. She packed the rest of her belongings and hefted the bag to her shoulder. Elena figured they would soon be leaving and she could just as easily tuck the bag under the table during breakfast.

“Not that I actually feel like eating,” she muttered to herself. Along with the usual headache the morning had re-awakened all her nervousness about the upcoming military confrontation. Elena made her way to the dining area. The coffee area was set up but no one had yet arrived. She poured herself a cup and settled in to one of the chairs. The caffeine worked its magic and her headache began to slowly ebb. By the time she was halfway though her second cup it was almost completely gone.

“You might want to get a to go cup for that,” Peter said walking into the room and gesturing towards her. “The car is ready and we need to be on our way” The muscles in Elena’s stomach knotted.

‘Great she thought, not only do I have to deal with the military, I have to spend the entire day alone with Peter and his bodyguard.’ She set the cup down on the table. ‘This should be interesting.’ She picked up her bag and followed him out the door.

Pilot: Chapter 12

Sorry for the delay. Chapter 13 will be up this afternoon and Chapter 14 in the morning. val

Chapter 12

Elena may not have been a fan of politics but the way the Council Law book laid everything out in black and white detail was fascinating. She found herself drawn into the book and afternoon passed swiftly.

‘Council members are based on population,’ she mused. Not population of pilots but the general population of a home region. The book explained that it was felt if representation was based on the number of pilots a region had there might be some efforts to increase the number of pilots. ‘And that could lead to some nasty battles,’ she thought, summing up the large words into their basic concept. ‘And nasty battles get noticed.’ A discrete cough from the doorway startled her from her thoughts and she looked up.

“Dinner will be served shortly in the dining area Miss,” a short dark haired main wearing the staff uniform told her.

“Of course,” she said. He inclined his head, then turned and left. She ran a hand through her hair realizing that a night spent in a car followed by a day absently twisting stands while she read was not going to improve her looks. She wished she had time for a shower.

“Oh well, no help for it.” She said aloud. She uncurled her legs and stood up, only to realize her right leg had gone completely to sleep. “Oh hell,” she thought. She tapped her rubbery feeling foot on the floor, trying to regain feeling. After a few minutes she was rewarded with a pins and needles feeling. She tried not to look as though she were limping as she made her way out of the library and down the corridor. By the time she reached the dining area she felt she had the trick of it and tried to look nonchalant.

“Why are you limping?” She frowned at the question and looked over to Peter. The tone was demanding and she saw him shoot a questioning glance towards Alex.

“My leg fell asleep while I was reading,” she admitted. Did he really think Alex would do something to her? On a council ship? That was a chilling thought.

“Ah, I see,” he relaxed a bit and smiled.

“There you are,” her grandfather said coming up to her. “I’m sorry we were in meetings so long. I had hoped to spend time with you. Did you occupy yourself well?” She smiled at his phrasing.

“I occupied myself well, Grandfather,” she told him Peter snorted in amusement and walked away. “I did some reading in the library.” Her grandfather’s left eyebrow rose in question.

“I see, and did you learn anything of value?” He led her over to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Apparently dinner was not a buffet style meal. She sat in the offered chair while he took the seat next to her.

“I did learn some things of value,” she replied with a smile.

“Really? Anything you care to share?”

“Nothing you don’t already know.” She told him. She knew everyone at the table could guess that she had spent the afternoon looking up the details of her new status but she didn’t really want to discuss the details of other things she learned. Some of the information made her queasy. The fact that she now held the minimum requirements for a council member was not something that sat entirely comfortably with her. The discomfort was not due entirely to her dislike of politics.

When reading about how the council members were chosen one fact became glaringly obvious. There was no council member for North America. The entire western hemisphere was divided into regions and assigned to European, Asian and African regions. She looked over at her grandfather. He may have been her council chair but his base was in Milan. Old thoughts began to stir as everyone took their seats and the salad course was placed in front of them.

She picked up her fork and speared a roma tomato. She remembered the excitement before her parents death. Her mother had reached the council member status. As her mother’s family had gone to America under William Penn they wore officially classified as an American family with no possible doubt. For the first time the New World would have a council member solely looking out for their interests. Regional boundaries around the world would have been re-drawn. Power would have shifted. Three days later both Elena’s parents were dead, killed in a random accident.

Elena shifted her eyes around the table. She had been wrapped in her grief but remembered the fragments of suspicion that were never cleared away. How many of those at this table knew details of the accident? Did any of them have a part in it? And when they realized she could effectively take the place her mother would have taken, would she become a target?

She shook her head and took another bite of salad. The vinaigrette stung, the bite being more prevalent than the taste. Perhaps her disinterest in council politics was known well enough to help keep her safe.

“Something wrong?” Peter asked her. Once again he was seated across the table from her. She wondered if he was keeping an eye on her. With his reputation he could easily have a hand in her parent’s accident. He would have been in his late teens or early twenties at the time. She fought not to narrow her eyes in speculation.

“No not at all,” she replied. “I was just thinking how fresh the tomatoes are.” She speared another with her fork. “Usually at this time of year they all have that slight off taste that lets you know they have been shipped a long way.”

“Our chef keeps a hydroponics garden in one of the lower decks,” Peter replied. “This way we are always assured of the very freshest of vegetables.”

“I wouldn’t think you would spare space for a garden like that on such a ship,” she commented.

“”There are many more rooms than are needed,” her grandfather commented. “ It is best to make use of them for more practical purposes than simply lying empty.”

“I see,” Elena replied. She continued eating her salad. Small talk with the council was not one of the skill sets she had been trained to use. Mostly her ties to them would lay in common business interests. Business conversation at the dinner table was considered rude however. “Have you tried growing off world foods in the garden?” She asked. Elena figured it might edge into business a little but if she kept it grounded in the culinary it might pass.

“I don’t believe so,” Peter said. Her grandfather just shook his head.

“Too bad,” Elena said. “It would be nice to have fresh treel around.” The salad plates were whisked away and the entrée was placed in front of her. Roasted chicken stuffed with some sort of blue cheese mixture and placed on a bed of wild rice. A mound of creamy mashed potatoes and fresh green peas completed the plate. She inhaled deeply.

“Smells delicious,” she said. She took her first bite. It tasted just as good as it smelled.

“I’ve never had treel,” Peter commented. “Do you like it?” On her left her Alexandro laughed at the question.

“When she was eight she made herself sick on it. I’m impressed she could even stomach it after that.” Elena frowned at her grandfather for a moment, then laughed.

“For a few years after I couldn’t she admitted. “But a few every now and again are fine.”

“What do they taste like?” Peter asked.

“They have a sweetness like grapes but a bit of a tart taste to balance that out. I don’t know how else to explain them. I’m surprised you never had them. I thought every kid got a bag as a rule. Like strawberries or watermelon in the summertime.”

“Well we never dealt with the Varosh colonies so they weren’t really that common in our household.”

“I see.” Elena commented. The conversation ebbed and flowed around her. Occasionally she made a comment but for the most part simply listened and watched. It was with some surprise that she noticed Peter watching her throughout the meal. It wasn’t a leering look as if her were trying to figure out a way to get her naked. It was more calculating than predatory. It reminded her of the way a man might look at an expensive bottle of wine when he was trying to decide whether he wanted to sip the one glass he could afford of the expensive stuff or buy enough cheap wine to just get drunk. It was not exactly a comfortable look.

Elena also caught her grandfather watching Peter during the evening. He had what she liked to call his scheming look. It was a look that told her he might not like Peter’s interest in her but as he could do nothing about it, he would try to turn the situation to his advantage. Elena found she had a bit of a headache. It was with some relief that she greeted the desert course, dark chocolate mouse topped with raspberries.

With the desert course cleared away everyone stood and began filtering into a well appointed room fitted with large chairs similar to the ones in the library. Her grandfather led her into the room and to a chair. Various paintings, all on nautical themes decorated the walls. With a start Elena realized she was being allowed into one of the famous brandy hours. She smiled a little as she was passed a snifter. The last time she was around when the council had one of their brandy hours she had been deemed much too small for such an event and had been shooed off to bed by the housekeeper.

‘I would have been twelve at the time,’ she thought. With a start she realized that many of the current council members would not have been in power at that time. Only her Grandfather and Riko were of an age. She had not seen the council at that time, only moving shadows and low pitched voices. Elena glanced over at Riko.

It was hard to imagine her as anything other than council. Elena found she could easily see the older woman piloting her ship and acing as both pilot and captain but found it difficult to imagine her as serving under another captain. ‘Yet there was a time when she did,’ she thought. That was standard training. All pilots started out under a trained captain. But for Riko that time was long past, over before Elena was even born. Elena stopped trying to see the younger Riko as she realized the rules about not discussing business were relaxed after dinner.

‘They are still restrained,’ she thought as she listened. They were just talking general business not the specifics as she would have thought. She suspected her presence was the reason for the restraint. ‘Well, restraint in all but one,’ she realized. While Alex Barton had stayed far from her previously, now he took a seat nearby and while everyone else discussed general business, he dropped broad hints that invited her to inquire about council business. Absently she wondered if he thought she was that gullible.

His questions seemed very movie villain-esque and she thought the effect was slightly ruined since he didn’t have a moustache to twirl around his finger as he cackled. Not that he actually cackled, but there was a gleam of evil glee in his eyes that Elena did not care for. She had the impression that as soon as she asked what he was talking about he would deride her for her inappropriate curiosity. She sighed inwardly and ignored his comments as best she could. Others appeared to be doing the same.

Elena wondered if being able to pilot again was worth all of this nonsense. She thought about the way the ship felt under her control, the thrill of seeing the outline of the channel’s narrow passage in her mind and placing it over the image her eyes could see in the real world and guiding the ship safely through. The strength she could feel in her as she skillfully maneuvered her ship through the channel that no one else on board could even see and the trust of her crewmates believing she would not get them killed were some things she missed. But the sheer beauty and joy of seeing the ship slide from the oceans of this world and into the black of the deep space, with a thin ribbon of water drawn along beneath them and a little behind, drawn in to the vacuum and held in place as the moved, gliding through stars.

She thought of the fun of negotiating with races of people from planets in solar systems few on her planet would ever know existed and of the sheer adrenaline rush as one of the ships that preyed upon lone merchant vessels targeted them and she had to guide her ship around their traps, sometimes outsmarting them and sometimes just plain out running them.

'Yes,' she thought. 'It is worth dealing with them if I can get that back.'

“Elena?” Peter said and with a start she realized he had been talking to her. He had a bemused look on his face and she wondered what her face had shown as her thoughts drifted.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I must be more tired than I thought.” She set her still half full snifter on the occasional table next to her as Alex dropped yet another obvious hint. “I don’t suppose you would mind if I excuse myself a little early?” She asked. “I’m afraid I am not very lively company when I am this sleepy and it seems fairly obvious you have council business you wish to discuss.” She cast her eyes towards Alex as she stood up. She was pleased to note a light blush grace his cheeks. Several of the men stood as she excused herself. Elena turned from them and walked back into the dining area. As she stood staring at the purposefully moving staff she realized she had no clue where her room actually was. Luckily they did and one of them led her through a maze of corridors to her suite. She thanked him and entered the room prepared for her.

delay

chapter 12 is going to be posted later this afternoon. Sorry for any inconvienience. To make up for it I will be posting an additional chapter on Thursday.

Pilot: Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After a few minutes Elena managed to shake her thoughts away as something to dwell on later and went to rejoin the group in the dining area.  None of them were there.  A preliminary search found the door to the meeting room closed and Elena could hear the murmur of voices on the other side of the door.  She didn't test the handle to see if it was locked, as she had enough of council politics for the moment.  The council was probably taking care of business she had no interest in and as far as she was concerned they could keep doing it.  Elena turned away from the door. While spending some time with her grandfather would have been nice, she was somewhat relieved not to spend the day cautiously treading the verbal minefield of family relations. Returning to the dining area she found the wait staff cleaning up from brunch.  Everyone seemed to know their assigned tasks and the order in which they needed to be completed. She watched them and wondered if interrupting their routine would be a good idea.

"May I help you Miss?" A voice said from behind her.  elena turned, startled. "My apologies Miss, I didn't realize you hadn't seen me."  The voice belonged to a woman with dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail.  She was wearing white pants and a dark blue shirt with a golden L emblazoned on the breast pocket.  White canvas shoes completed the outfit. Elena recognized it as the staff uniform.  The L made Elena think of the shirts Laverne wore in the old television show and the Laverne and Shirley theme song began playing in the back of her mind. 

"Yes, actually," She replied, turning the volume down on her mental radio. "I need to run an errand.  I don't suppose there is a phone to call a taxi near by? Or I could use my cell phone if you have a phone book."  The woman shook her head.

"I'm sorry Miss.  You are allowed the free run of the ship while you are here but for your own safety we were asked to keep you aboard.  If you let me know what is needed I could perhaps secure it for you." She looked extremely apologetic and elena sighed.  "It really is for your own safety Miss."  The woman started to look distressed. 

"I understand," Elena said, knowing the council was trying to help her as well as being paranoid.  She also knew no one on board would go against the direct orders of the council.  She sighed. "Its just sort of personal."  Elena felt her cheeks flush red. "Um, you see I didn't have time to do laundry before coming on this trip and I am running low on undergarments. I suppose I could just rinse these out in the sink and let them dry over night."  The last comment was muttered more for herself than her uniformed companion.  She bit her lip thinking of wearing the date underwear for an extra day but not really seeing much of a choice. "Well I suppose I'll have to make do."  Elena focused on the woman.  "Thank you anyway," she said.

"Oh no Miss," The attendant's face looked shocked at the thought of a passenger's discomfort. "That simply won't do.  I'f you give me your sizes I can arrange for the items to be in your room."  She pulled out a small notepad from her back pocket.  A golf pencil was stuck in the spiral binding.  The woman slid it out and flipped to a clean page.  She stared up at Elena expectantly.  

"Oh, no really, that isn't necessary,"  Elena started to protest thinking how many people would end up involved in her her underwear crisis.  

"It will be fine Miss, discreet as you please."  Realizing she was beat, Elena gave her size requirements to the woman and they were quickly jotted down and the notebook flipped closed.  Elena reached for her wallet.

"Oh no Miss.  That isn't necessary."

"I'm sorry," Elena said, afraid she had offended the woman.  She waved Elena's concern away with a flick of the notepad.

"Not a problem.  I'll make sure these are delivered to your room.  And if you have further need, please let me know.  My name is Regina."

"Thank you Regina."

"My pleasure Miss."  Regina turned back down the corridor and walked briskly away.  Elena tried not to think of how her underwear problem would be solved.  The logistics would be too embarrassing. With the council in closed session and leaving the ship forbidden to her, Elena decided the best course of action would be to take advantage of the council library.  Possibly she could find a few answers to the crop of questions the last few days had garnered.  Besides, she actually knew where the library was.  Anything else would require directions or a map. Mission decided she pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and returned to the library.  

Once inside the doors she allowed her self a brief look around.  Earlier she had focused on the two people dominating the seating area and the rest of the library had faded to a mere backdrop.  This time she could appreciate the soft brown leather chairs and gleaming wood. The rooms accents, the draperies and paintings had overtones of prussian blue and gold.  Each bookshelf had a glass door over it with a small latch placed in the center to secure the door.  elena guessed this to be a measure against rough weather but imagined the sea would have to boil to shake a boat this large.  While she had been in libraries much larger, most books dealing with the guild, the council or piloting would be stored off world at the docking station to keep them from falling into the wrong hands.  No doubt this was probably the largest collection of  guild related titles on the planet. Hopefully some of her questions could be answered here.  

The first set of questions she wanted answered dealt with the details of being named as head of her own house.  She wanted to know exactly what that entailed.  Elena was sure there would be benefits and just as certain there would be requirements now made of her.  Finding out those requirements before the council brought them up would be helpful.  She also wanted more information about being named Friend of the Guild.  Those were the two most pressing problems.  Elena smirked. 

"Well outside of the military wanting to kidnap me for their diabolical schemes, those are my two biggest concerns," she said.  The first lesson her parents taught her about the council was that they never gave without taking, giving every privilege some responsibility.  In some cases Elena actually agreed with the concept.  She spotted a computer discretely tucked into the corner so as not to disrupt the old world elegance and she walked over to it.  With a touch it sparked to life and the electronic card catalog was at her disposal.

The concept of paying for what you got helped keep everyone from getting too greedy or from gaining unchecked power, in theory.  The higher the power, the heavier the responsibility was a concept drilled into each of them at every stage of their training.  However, dealing with the council always left her feeling paranoid and questioning the motives of everyone around her.  Elena sighed and opened up a search window.  She typed her question and prepared to wade through tons of useless information before finding anything relevant.

"After all, it isn't like council law and head of household are that uncommon as phrases go." Just before clicking the search button, Elena noticed a box where she could check and only search the families archives rather than the entire library.  She ticked the box, blessing whatever librarian had spent the time coding the documents separately.

"Besides, I can do a general search later," she said as the computer pulled up a list of resources.  The list was pretty long but nowhere near as extensive as a general search would be.  Noting that all of the sources listed were located in the same general area, Elena didn't bother copying the titles down onto one of the little slips of paper thoughtfully stationed next to the computer.  She just walked over to the shelf listed. The shelf was one of the lower ones and when she sat indian style in front of the book shelf the titles were all at eye level.  She unlatched the shelf door and pulled it open.  The door pulled upwards and slid on a track above the books, keeping it out of the way while she browsed.  

A fat tome simply entitled Council Law looked promising.  She pulled it off the shelf and flipped to the back, hoping there was an index.  There was none.  She flipped to the front of the book and found the table of contents.  elena slid her finger down the page, allowing her eyes to follow.  She mumbled the chapter titles to herself as she looked for something of interest.  Several things caught her attention as she scanned the table of contents and she had to remind herself to focus.  Once her questions were answered she could indulge her curiosity.  Her time her was very limited.

She turned the page and continued scanning.  The fifth page of the table of contents held the title to a promising chapter and she turned to page 246.  Mired in official sounding verbage only a lawyer would enjoy she found that as head of household she was allowed to run her business As a guild business in any way she saw fit as long as it did nothing to jeopardize the other families. She supposed she could now rotate even more exotic stock with her current inventory if she chose to without getting into trouble with the council.  She thought of her grandfather's proposal.  In addition, elena was only answerable to the council member who headed up her regional families and to the council itself. 

"Which means Therese can't really keep me out of anything anymore."  She thought about Nate's upcoming wedding with mixed thoughts and wasn't sure if this was a benefit or a drawback.  Elena was now also eligible to vote in general elections,whereas before she could only offer her opinion to the head of household and hoe he took her feelings into account at election time. The final carrot was that should a council seat be open, she could if she met other qualifications apply to fill it.

"So there is the carrot," she muttered to herself. "Now where is the stick."  She found it buried a few paragraphs down.  "Not too bad," she said.  She would now owe an annual tithe to the Guild, but the amount didn't seem too excessive.  The tithe was not a set amount but rather a percentage of her annual income, revised every year.  As sticks went, it wasn't a particularly heavy one.  Elena weighed the thought of paying the Guild and realized it didn't bother her that much.  It was relatively small compared to some of the potential commercial benefits. She was especially pleased at the thought of her cousin's face when she learned of Elena's new status.

"From outcast to family leader in one fell swoop. Cheap at twice the price," she decided. Elena flipped back to the table of contents and continued scanning for a reference to Friends of the Guild.  She spent an hour flipping between table of contents and pages in the fat Council Law book and others.  By the time she reached the end of the shelf, the only thing she had learned was that a Friend of the Guild was someone who acted on behalf of the Guild and to whom the council was somehow beholden.

Elena looked at the stack of books heaped on the floor beside her. With a shake of her head she began re-shelving them.  She was pretty sure her act on behalf of the Guild was tied to Ian and the military but could find no reference as to how the council was beholden and what that actually meant.  That was something she found strange.  The council may always take something when they gave you something else, but it was always a very straightforward business transaction.  Benefits and responsibilities were always clearly laid out.

"Maybe there just aren't that many people who help the council out so they never really had to think it through," she mused.  All of the books except Council Law were re-shelved.  Se picked the book up and deciding she didn't really have a better way to spend her afternoon, she stood and took the book over to one of the thick leather chairs.  She settled herself into it, curling her feet up underneath her and opened the book.  Idly she wished she had a notepad to jot down key points but let the thought go as she began to read.

Pilot: Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Elena followed Siobhan to the library. They arrived to see Riko sitting comfortably in one of the leather chairs and stirring a cup of coffee taken from the tray set off to the side. Elena had not realized the woman had left the dining area. Siobhan took another of the seats and gestured for Elena to take a third. The butterflies were once again swirling in Elena’s belly and she wished she hadn’t added quite so much waffle to their dance floor. She politely declined another offer of coffee. Riko stirred her cup while Siobhan poured for herself. The small silver spoon made little clinking noises as it circled through the black liquid and Riko’s eyes were focused on Elena. When Siobhan was settled she smiled at Elena.

“The Calling is hard upon a Pilot,” she began softly. “A difficult choice, do you risk your crewmates or do you forsake the only life you’ve had. Many choose the risk.” She paused to take a sip of her coffee.

“Easier to build a new life than to justify the possible deaths of friends.” Elena said. Whatever they thought, walking away hadn’t been brave. She hadn’t even told the other crew members or the bulk of her family why she was leaving. She told her grandfather as she was legally required to do, that’s it. She then skulked off and tried to pretend that part of her life had never existed.

“Who diagnosed you?” Riko asked, her voice low and hard.

“I diagnosed myself,” Elena replied. “When the Calling started it was easy to ignore, the longer they whispered the greater the urge became to follow them. So I left.” Riko and Siobhan exchanged glances. Elena shivered thinking of the whispering voices in her head urging her to take her ship off the established pathways and strike off into the unknown black. They were nerely irrisistable. The last trip Elena knew she had to step down as pilot. In the middle of the night she had awoken to find she left her bed and moved to the helm preparing to change course. She swallowed hard, thinking how close she came to listining to the voices.

“There are many who study The Calling,” Riko said, inturupting Elena's thoughts.

“Are there?” Elena asked, unsure where the conversation was going.

“Yes and many things have been learned,” Siobhan added. “Such as once the Calling manifests, a pilot will start having dreams they can not remember and awakening with a very nasty headache.”

“So I have learned,” Elena commented. Both older women nodded.

“As you have also learned that caffeine will dull the throbbing of these headaches nearly instantly, with hot caffeine working better than cold caffeine.”

“I hadn’t tried the cold caffeine,” Elena stated.

“We have also had those who study dreams and the subconscious working with some of the pilots experiencing the calling,” Riko said. Siobhan smiled.

“We are also getting quite adept at sifting through actual usable knowledge and idiocy regarding suppressed desires.” Siobhan added with a mocking lilt to her voice. Elena absently wondered how esoteric some of the subconscious sciences had gotten. Picturing the council consulting an info-mercial psychic made her smile.

“I see,” Elena said cautiously, her gaze shifting between the two of them.

“There are now two schools of thought about The Calling. Some maintain that it is, as it has always been, an affliction that more often than not grounds our best pilots.” Riko said as her gaze focused on Elena, her eyes catching her like a snake. Elena was unsure if she would be capable of turning away. In the weight of Riko’s gaze she didn’t feel like she could even blink. “Many before their time,” she concluded, breaking her gaze. Elena let loose a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“Others,” continued Siobhan, her gaze no less piercing than her fellow council member’s, “have come to believe that it is a natural process. An evolution of ability if you would.” She set her empty cup down on the end table with a soft click.

“A study has been done on the pilots known to be affected and it is as Riko has said. Usually it is the best pilots afflicted with the disorder. We believe the headaches may be brought on in much the same way as growing pains are during the teenage years. They seem to be increased as a result of the pilot’s fighting the process. Many of the grounded pilots have started paying attention to the dreams, noting down images, trying to remember, trying to figure out what the dreams could mean.” Siobhan tilted her head to the side. “They haven’t found the meaning of the dreams yet but the headaches have lessened as a result of their not shunning them. Perhaps that would be of use to you. In addition, the more they write down, the more of the dreams they remember.” Elena didn't really care about the dreams but thought about the pain of the eye blurring morning migraines.

“Less pain is always appreciated,” she answered. Both women smiled.

“Would you keep track of the dreams as you pay attention to them?” Riko asked. “Your impressions, your gut feelings as well as the actual images when you can remember them? A good pilot often steers on instinct as much as learned skills.”

“I will do my best,” Elena said.

“Good,” Riko said. “That is all we can ask.” Both Riko and Siobhan stood and Elena scrambled to her feet. The two council members started towards the door.

“Another side effect of paying attention to the dreams might be of benefit to you Elena,” Siobhan said.

“Oh?”

“The pilots who paid attention to the dreams found their urge to strike off into the black and away from the safe channels at the urging of the Calling greatly diminished. Many of them are no longer grounded.” The two council members left Elena standing stock still in the library. She no longer saw her surroundings and the events of the past few days faded in importance. Slowly she sunk back into her chair. The effects of the Calling diminished. She would be able to pilot again. Just by paying attention to her dreams. She shook her head.

“Crazy,” she whispered out loud. “It can’t be that easy.” Still deep inside hope flickered. One cold thought nearly blew the flame out, “The council doesn’t give something for nothing,” she whispered. And they had given her quite a bit. “What could they possibly want from me?”