Storm Chaser: Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The wait was long and when she finished adding notes to her log book, Elena switched to working on her proposals. There were actually three she had to write. One for an alliance with Riko, one for Council approval and a final one if she planned to get the Librarians involved. Elena mentally weighed the pros and cons of involving the librarians. The biggest con she found was that she didn’t know them well enough to know what working with them entailed. She knew they settled disputes and were looking for a place to set up a permanent berth.

Elena understood they collected knowledge but had never really given them that much thought. On the pro side however was the balance they might bring to her alliance with Riko. The alliance would allow Elena to take most of the risks while Riko committed some of her more established resources and received compensation. Elena had the feeling Riko would be pushing for as high a profit margin as possible. With the librarians taking up residence on the planet, the dynamic would shift somewhat and it would no longer be about making fast cash.

“It would be about creating something sustainable,” Elena tapped her pencil on the page and looked out of the window. The captain’s quarters didn’t offer as broad a view as the pilot house but it was wide enough to still see the land. As she watched a brown sea bird dove into the waves and carted off a glistening prize. She thought of all the things a permanent community would need. Clean water and a ready food supply topped the list.

“Shelter isn’t too far behind,” she mused. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Thinking ahead was fine but until she had details it was simple musing. “And who would have thought I’d be musing about the basic necessities?” She realized from the angle of light that the trio would be back soon and she closed her notebook and returned to the deck. As she turned her eyes towards the pier she saw the party making its way back towards the dinghy.

“Looks like they found some things to bring back,” Benjamin said. He stepped from the door of the galley and was wiping something yellow off his hands and onto the apron. The breeze carried the scent of curry.

“Looks like,” she said turning back to the party. They were slowly climbing down into the boat. The steep steps were more difficult to descend than ascend. In addition to the sea slick steps, each member seemed rather heavily laden. She remembered Mateo adding several empty bags to the dinghy’s load. They now appeared to be full.

When they reached the side of the ship, Elena lowered the hooks. Mateo fastened one to the bow while Andre clipped one to the stern. They signaled the all clear and Elena turned on the winch. The small boat lifted out of the water and returned to its holding cradle. Its passengers exited, hauling their treasures to the deck. Elena noticed the wide grins and excitement and wondered if Christopher Columbus’ crew once wore identical expressions.

“So did you find anything?” She asked in her most innocent voice. Behind her Benjamin chuckled. Mateo frowned.

“We found a lot smarty pants,” he told her. He grinned, his frown forgotten. “You have to see this.” One by one sample jars and containers were pulled from the bags. Some contained dirt and water, others various plant samples, and while useful many of them were not that exciting. Mateo rolled a small log from one of the bags.

“This was from one of the downed trees,” he explained. “Looked like wind damage. Check out the grain.” Elena dutifully looked at the wood. She saw the densely packed rings, smiled and handed it back. Mateo sighed. “It’s dense old growth,” he explained. “The kind that is really good for building channel riders.” Comprehension dawned.

“Oh,” she said viewing the log with more respect. Excitement glowed on Mateo’s face. Kiera was not too far behind in the excitement department.

“I’m so used to dealing with just layers of pollen samples,” She said as she delicately transferred some of her plant samples from the bag to the deck. Each one had been carefully dug up, the roots still encased in dirt. Dirt was embedded in Kiera’s finger nails and she had a dark smudge across one cheek. Some of her long hair had pulled loose from her ponytail and danced in the breeze. All three of them looked tired and sweaty as well as excited.

“How far did you guys go?” she asked.

“Not too far,” Andre replied as the other two continued to extract their samples. “We mostly stuck to the coast line. We did find the start of an old road.” He moved to stand next to Elena and turned on his camera. Benjamin moved to Elena’s other side and looked over her shoulder as Andre began to flip through his photos. “See here is the road.He pointed to a flat spot. It was very near the edge of the pier.

“The pier goes all the way to shore,” Kiera said. You can see various locations along it where it looks as though ships could tie up. My guess is the smaller ones were tied up closer to shore.”

“Makes sense,” Elena said as Kiera pulled a small flowering vine from the bag. “You would want a road from port to market.” The scent of the flower was almost citrus crisp with sweet undertones. “Nice,” Elena said sniffing approvingly.

“Yeah I figure if nothing else you could make perfume from it,” Kiera said. “Besides it’s pretty.”

“The road seems to lead to a clump of buildings. We’re going to look into it tomorrow.”

“And look at these,” Mateo held out his hand which contained a couple of stones that gleamed a deep blue. Even if they ended up not being good for jewelry Elena estimated that there were probably craftsmen and artisans who could make use of them. One by one treasures were brought to light, conversations crossing and bisecting as the excitement bubbled. Even after the samples were stowed and dinner was served the excitement continued.

“So you are heading down the main road tomorrow?” Elena asked as the plates were passed.

“That seems to be the plan,” Mateo answered, taking a scoop of rice from the large bowl.

“Could you look at the buildings for me? See if the larger ones are still intact enough to be of use?”

“Sure,” Mateo said, he paused and looked at her with speculation. “Of use for what?” He looked at her over his plate and smiled. “You have a plan cooking. I can smell it.”

“You smell the curried lamb,” Elena told him.

“No way, I know that look from when we were kids. You have a trick up your sleeve.”

“Possibly,” she answered.

“Spill,” Mateo said.

“This stays between us.” She said to the table at large.

“Who am I going to tell?” Kiera asked. “I mention anything about this trip and they’ll lock me away.”

“I’m good at keeping quiet,” Benjamin said. Elena nodded.

“All right. Last time I was on the Docking Facility I was approached by the Librarians.” Mateo and Benjamin stared at her, their food forgotten while Kiera looked puzzled.

“Did you have an overdue book?” She asked.

“The Librarians are a very powerful group,” Benjamin explained. “They usually keep to themselves unless they are needed to settle a dispute.”

“Oh,” Kiera said. Elena could tell that she still wasn’t sure what that meant but she figured Benjamin’s explanation would suffice.

“And they approached you,” Mateo prompted her.

“Yes,” she replied. “They are looking for a secure location to use as a permanent archives.” She took a sip of her water. “I gathered they would need a lot of space. Should some of the larger buildings prove usable…” She let the thought trail off. Mateo and Benjamin stared at her for a moment. She put her glass down and picked her fork back up. She scooped up some rice and lamb and took a bite.

“Well,” Mateo said. He blinked hard. “Well,” he repeated.

“How do you think Riko will take that?” Benjamin asked.

“I don’t know,” Elena replied. “I know that when I go before the Council for official title I have to give the council something. Usually it would be a percentage of the profits.”

“Which Riko will make certain come from your part of the equation,” Mateo said, somewhat recovered.

“True,” Elena agreed. “I was hoping that instead I could offer to grant permanent berth to the Librarians as my kick back to the council.” Elena smiled. “I mean as my proper contribution back to the Guild as a whole for being allowed the privilege of passage, of course.”

“Smart,” Benjamin said thoughtfully. “Very smart. Riko would bulldoze in and take what she could as quickly as possible. The Librarians won’t. They will want to study the archaeological evidence and add it to their knowledge base.”

“And if they are looking for a home they won’t want it trashed.” Mateo added.

“And they are powerful enough to give even Riko pause,” Elena said. The two men nodded.

“They sound like an interesting group,” Kiera said.

“I don’t know too much about them to be honest,” Elena said. “I just know they are powerful, secretive, and collect knowledge.”

“Isn’t that enough?” Mateo said.

“I hope so,” Elena answered. “I am putting together an offer for them. “If you find any buildings this trip that you think might be suitable I’ll have to take a quick look.”

“That’s sort of dangerous,” Mateo said. “If anything happens to you we are all sort of stuck here.”

“I know,” Elena said. “Which is why I’m not going on any of the other exploratory trips. But if I am to speak with the Librarians then I have to be able to say that I saw the place I am talking about with my own eyes instead of just in a photo or report.”

“I still don’t think that is wise,” Mateo said.

“”Maybe not,” Benjamin added. “But necessary.”

“I know,” Mateo conceded.

“I’ll be careful,” Elena told him. “I don’t want anyone stranded with no way home. Especially since I would have to be killed for that to happen.” She paused and took another bite. “So,” she continued after swallowing. “You’ll keep an eye out for potentially useful buildings?”

“Yeah,” Mateo told her while the others nodded in agreement. “Along with potential hazards.”

“Fair enough,” Elena agreed.

Stoem Chaser: Chapter 50

Chapter 50

It took two days of sailing before land came into view. While Benjamin got his fill of deep sea fishing, Elena mapped the constellations and Mateo recorded data from long range probes. Kiera took a few samples of seaweed but for the most part she and Andre assisted with odd tasks as they arose. It was mid morning when Elena spotted signs of approaching land. Birds were circling in the sky and a dark mass was taking shape on the horizon. Mateo directed his probes while Elena pulled out her telescope.

She shrugged as there wasn’t much to see beyond a shadowy outline. By mid-afternoon she could add possibly hilly to the description. She turned checked the sonar more frequently to avoid any unpleasant surprises. The sonar had been running constantly as they travelled. Mateo had altered the standard equipment so that it now recorded their passage. In time they would be able to use the data to create a more accurate map of this ocean’s floor.

“It doesn’t appear to be getting any closer,” Kiera said as she peered through the telescope.

“It is,” Elena assured her. “It just takes a while. We should reach land around this time tomorrow, maybe a little earlier.” Kiera looked doubtful but didn’t say anything. It was difficult not to watch the horizon and Elena realized she wasn’t the only one with the problem. In between readying themselves for the next day’s adventure she caught Andre, Kiera, Mateo and Benjamin pausing to stare and wonder. After dinner Mateo took watch in the pilot house while Elena got some sleep. He would watch through the night and then sleep when she took the wheel back at breakfast. By the time they approached the land they would both be awake and rested.

Elena didn’t anticipate sleeping but fell asleep fairly quickly. She tumbled almost immediately into the dream where she came across the glyph of the winged ship. Again when she touched the stone it melted into black and she awoke before hitting bottom. She shook the dream away, reminded herself not to touch any rock carvings and decided it was close enough to morning to get up. She was rewarded in the galley when she found the coffee freshly brewed. She poured herself a cup and took one of the breakfast burrito type things Benjamin offered her. She grabbed a second one for Mateo and joined him in the pilot house.

“Anything new?” She asked. He stretched until his back popped and yawned hugely.

“Not really,” he told her taking the offered breakfast. “Once the sun went down there wasn’t much to see.” He gestured towards the sonar with his free hand. “The seabed is getting shallower and starting to slope upward a bit. And I think this ocean has whales of some kind or something generally that size if the sonar is to be believed.” Elena checked the dept of the sea bed and relaxed when she realized it had not changed enough for her to worry about the ship. As she looked, she saw one of the shapes Mateo had mentioned and had to agree with his whale-like estimation. She sent him off to his bunk while she took her seat and continued with breakfast.

As the sun rose Elena could see more of the land than she had the night before. The sun was behind the Storm Chaser so her view was less shadowed as she peered through the telescope. She revised her opinion of possibly hilly as she looked. While she could see the shadows of what may have been mountains in the background, the shapes closer to their position were more uniform than nature would create.

“Buildings,” she guessed thinking of the pictures. “Over grown and worn down but still impressive.” A quick calculation of distance and a bit of geometry later she realized that some of those buildings would have to be well over five stories tall. “Well, five stories for me,” She told Spin. “Who knows what size the folks that built them were?”

The closer they came to land the more attention Elena paid to the sea bed. Sailing in unfamiliar waters was always tricky and she had no desire to scrape her hull in this place. Remarkably the area seemed free of rocky shoals. Elena shifted her gaze between the sea and the sonar. She frowned. Off to starboard there was an anomaly. Elena twisted the telescope in that direction and looked as Mateo joined her in the pilot house.

“What do you make of that?” She asked him stepping away from the telescope. He took his turn at the eyepiece.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It seems to be running in a straight line towards land though.”

“Maybe it was an old dock of some kind,” Elena mused.

“Can we get closer?”

“I think so,” Elena said after a moment or two of thought. “It isn’t too shallow. We can weigh anchor close enough to take a look.” Elena made the slight adjustment in course to bring them alongside the oddity. By know they were close enough to land that the smell of land, of green growing things was mingling with the sea air. While Elena navigated closer, everyone else clustered on deck to see what they were approaching. Elena sailed as close as she dared then weighed anchor. Once secure, she joined the others on deck.

The Storm Chaser was not terribly far from land; in fact their present position was as close to the coast as she felt comfortable going. From their position one of the row boats could be deployed and sent to land. The edge of the anomaly was about 25 feet from their position.

“I think it is a stone pier,” Mateo said. “Look, it runs all the way to the coast.” They studied the pier for a moment with Andre taking photographs. The pier appeared to be composed of giant stone blocks. Benjamin, the tallest of those on board, could easily stretch out across the blocks. If he stretched his arms over his head he might be able to lay with his toes on one end and his fingertips barely touching the other side.

“Those blocks are huge,” Andre said. “And they appear to be just stacked next to each other.”

“Several ancient cities in meso-America were built in such a fashion,” Kiera said. “I don’t know about piers but it would make sense.”

“We could take one of the small boats over to have a bit of a look,” Mateo suggested.

“How,” Benjamin asked. “The pier is a little higher than the ship’s deck, how would you get to the top?”

“There,” Kiera said pointing to the edge of the pier. “It looks like stairs.” They all looked. On the edge of the pier they could see that the stone descended below the waterline in a stepped down pattern that could loosely be termed stairs.

“Well?” Mateo asked turning towards Elena.

“All right,” she said. “Take one of the dinghies and watch your step.” She glanced at the sky gauging time. “We have about six hours of daylight left and I want you back before dark. We don’t know what lives here and I’d rather not find out after night fall.” They nodded and Elena felt a bit like a mother hen. Mateo, Andre and Kiera piled into the dinghy and Benjamin worked the winch to lower them to the water.

“Didn’t you want to go?” Elena asked.

“Tomorrow,” Benjamin told her. “Once we actually go to land.” He grinned. Besides, someone has to make dinner.” They turned and watched the small boat move towards the stone pier. Mateo rowed them to the stairs and Andre slipped a loop of rope over a small jut of stone to secure the craft.

“Convenient,” Benjamin commented.

“With the number and scale of those buildings,” Elena began gesturing towards the coast. “I would bet this was a fairly bustling port at some time. Makes sense to prepare for a variety of ships.”

“True,” Benjamin agreed. They watched as the three climbed the stairs available. “I’m willing to bet the builders were a good deal taller than we are,” he added. All three had to stretch a bit to use the stairs.

“Either that or they figured after a long time on a ship you needed a little exercise.” The investigative party reached the top and began to look around. Andre took some pictures and they began following the stone pier towards land.

“Well I guess they will let us know what they find when they get back,” Benjamin said as the party moved further away. He left Elena at the railing and returned to his fishing line. Elena stood a minute more, watching, and then returned to the pilot house. She pulled out the log book and began to make notes wondering what information would be gleaned.

Storm Chaser: Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Elena watched Kiera for the two days it took to get from the Marta to the new channel. To her surprise, her neighbor was handling the transition very well. She still wouldn’t stray too close to the railings but seemed to be taking the transition in stride.

“Either that or she is bottling it up and waiting to scream when she is pretty sure no one can hear her,” Elena mused. “Of course she did see the channel mouth.” Admittedly she didn’t see it as a pilot would but she had seen something. “Which is more than even Mateo could do.” Elena tapped the wheel in thought. Peter would have mentioned had Kiera been related to any of the guild families, no matter how distant. The council kept track of things like that.

There was more to her neighbor than she had suspected. Such mysteries would have to wait however, as they were about to go through the new channel. This time much of Mateo’s electronics would be useless. They were designed to take the weight of the ship off of her while she opened the channel. This time they were going in and all the others could do was watch. Elena took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Some channels let out just at the water line while others were a little above or below. The lower ones were like diving into the trough before a wave, water drenched everything in sight. The higher ones were a little like a drop in a roller coaster. It was the splash down that sometimes scoured the deck. Without knowing which she faced, Elena called for a clearing of the deck rather than the more normal channel entry warning. All four of her passengers retreated to the galley. She had half expected Mateo to come up to the pilot house so he could see the first entry into the channel. Instead he led Kiera inside. Elena looked down at Spin.

“I guess it’s just you and me for the first view,” She said. Spin climbed onto the small space that served more as cat perch than window sill. She turned and faced the soon to be opened channel. Elena smiled and focused on the worn spot of space. With use it had become easier to open the new channel. Elena wasn’t sure if it was the passage becoming accustomed to being used or if it was her skills improving. This time, instead of opening a small entry to admit the probes Elena opened the channel fully.

Mentally she recorded the depth as the Storm Chaser began its entry. This new channel was deeper than the Marta, even at its maximum depth. She didn’t think it would be deep enough to admit the fully loaded cargo ships the Librarian’s used but they could certainly get heavier loads through. She didn’t know where in the season this channel was, so every passage through would have to be charted to find the seasonal variations.

The familiar play of lights and colors in the space between played and Elena found herself wondering if the lights and colors were even there or if it was simply a construct of her mind, allowing her to comprehend the odd nowhere between places. She had debated this with friends over drinks when talk turned philosophical but as with most questions of this sort, definitive answers were hard to find.

The Storm Chaser slid into the unknown ocean with a splash and Elena estimated the channel opened up a little less than a foot above the water’s surface. She signaled the all clear and took a look around as everyone else emerged from the galley. The sun was burning bright in the sky and given its position, Elena estimated it to be about mid day. The clouds looked like shredded cotton batting streaming across the deep blue of the sky. Elena opened the window to the pilot house. The wind was fresh and held the same scent that all open oceans regardless of world seemed to carry when you were far enough from land not to smell the earth. Out of habit Elena glanced behind. There were no dolphins in sight.

“Or whatever passes for dolphins here,” she said. She stretched her senses and could feel three other channels leading off the planet. Each of them led only one way, out. Oddly enough one of the channels was over a jut of land. Elena could still feel the channel she had created behind her. It closed after the ship passed through it but she could still feel it. Elena looked at it and added a little energy. The channel began to open. She pulled back and let it close.

“One thing not to worry about then,” she said with some relief. “We can definitely leave if we need to.” Elena watched the others wander around on the deck. There was no land in sight so there wasn’t much to see but Mateo had already dropped a line over the side. She didn’t know if he was fishing or taking a water sample. He stepped away from the side and began making his way around the perimeter.

“What are you up to?” she asked as he moved past.

“I set up cameras,” he told her. “Now I’m installing the memory chips.” He held up one of the storage boxes. “I figure we can record everything this way.”

“Just don’t damage the ship,” she told him. He gave her a salute and continued on his way. A little while later she saw Benjamin take a chair and a fishing pole and station himself at one of the railings.

“I wonder if his catch will be dinner or samples,” she mused. When she saw Andre and Kiera hauling specimen containers up, she decided anything he caught would fall into the latter category. She was somewhat relieved as she had no idea how to test for toxins on alien fish. She was curious so when Benjamin’s line went taught and he began to reel it in she locked the wheel and went down to the deck to see.

Benjamin struggled with whatever had taken his bait. Elena watched the muscles bunch on his arms. She had always known he was a large man, that fact was inescapable, but she hadn’t considered how much muscle he actually had until now. Slowly he reeled the line in. Mateo returned from his trip around the perimeter and all four of them watched as Benjamin brought his prize to the deck. Mateo let out a low whistle as the monster fish flopped on the deck.

“Wow,” Elena said, nearly at a loss for words. The fish was nearly 3 feet in length. “There is a scale in the cargo hold,” She said. Mateo retrieved it from the cargo hold and set it up on deck. They measured the fish and found it was a little over three feet and weighed 226 lbs.

“It looks like a normal fish,” Kiera said. “I thought it would look a little more alien.”

“I kinda think all fish look a little alien,” Andre said.

“Reminds me of a black sea bass,” Benjamin said as Mateo began taking pictures of the hanging fish.

“But it isn’t black,” Kiera said.

“Not all black sea bass are black,” he told her. “Some just have black spots kind of like this one.”

“Are they this big?” Andre asked. “Mostly when I see fish the sushi chef has already turned it into bite sized pieces.”

“Some of them are,” Benjamin told them with a smile. “The black sea bass is sometimes called a giant sea bass. There was one hooked off the coast of California that came in around 8 feet and weighed nearly 600 lbs. They are endangered though. They were over fished because they are so good to eat.” Elena caught the way he was looking at the fish.

“And this one may have toxins we have no remedy for so until we do…” She gestured towards the specimen jars.

“Spoil sort,” Benjamin told her with a grin.

“I think we are going to need a bigger container,” Andre said.

“There are larger ones in the hold,” Mateo said. “We also have a sub zero freezer so we can take it back in good condition.”

Confident that no one would be turning their first specimen into the dinner special, Elena returned to the pilot house and left them to their work.

Storm Chaser: Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Kiera seemed amused by the Storm Chaser, the old fashioned looking sailing vessel not being what she was expecting, but she made no comment as her gear was weighed and stowed. Elena introduced Benjamin Valentine and Kiera politely greeted the big man. Elena had to admit, Kiera’s greeting was much more polite than hers had been. For this trip out Kiera would occupy the pilot’s cabin. Mateo would be moved to the crew’s bunkhouse with the other men. Kiera had surveyed both rooms and turned to Elena.

“Makes you glad to be a girl,” she said. As the channel entrance got closer Elena became a little nervous. Thus far Kiera had not asked too many questions about their direction. She simply observed with a curiosity Elena found in keeping with her quiet nature. She stayed out of the way and helped out whenever she was given a task. That she was unfamiliar with ships of any kind was quite clear. Elena had to admit she was game though and learned quickly. Elena scanned the sea and saw no signs of military craft, named or unnamed. She did a quick scan with the sonar and nothing appeared.

“One potential problem down,” she muttered. Elena looked over her shoulder as Kiera entered the pilot house. Elena began shutting down the electrical systems.

“If you have any thing with a memory chip in it you might want to turn it off so it doesn’t get fried,” Elena told Kiera.

“My camera’s off and I figured we were far enough away from any cell towers that I turned my cell phone off as well.” She shrugged. “So I’m good memory chip wise. I don’t suppose you’d care to tell me what is going to fry the chips?”

“We have to go through a sort of electro magnetically charged passage way to get where we are going.” Elena began. Kiera looked past Elena’s shoulder and through the window. Elena followed her gaze and saw that the channel was in full view. She turned back to Kiera. Kiera was looking directly at the channel

“You can see that?” Elena asked.

“I see something,” Kiera said hesitantly.

“What does it look like?”

“It looks kind of like a heat haze. Like the sort you get on blacktop during a scorching summer. Why, is that what we need to pass through?”

“Yeah,” Elena replied. “Of course most people can’t see it.”

“Well I can only see it if I look slightly to the left of it. If I look directly at it, it goes away.”

“Interesting,” Elena said turning back to the channel and adjusting the Storm Chaser’s course.

“You can see it then?” Kiera asked.

“Yes but I don’t see it the same way you do,” she told Kiera.

“What do you see?”

“I see the mouth of a channel as if it was between two pillars. The Channel is dark and the pillars are white light.”

“Oh,” Kiera said. “And we are going into the dark?” There was no fear in her voice, only curiosity and Elena wondered how long her composure would last.

“Something like that.” Elena reached for the loudspeaker. “Channel entry in five,” she announced. Andre, Mateo and Benjamin moved away from the railings.

“Should I be doing something?” Kiera asked.

“Nope,” Elena told her. “But you might want to grab a hold of that railing as we go through.” Kiera moved to the railing and put a hand lightly on the gleaming metal. Elena gave her full attention to the channel and they began their entry. Behind her Elena heard Kiera gasp but could not spare her any attention. The lights spun and bled from rainbow to white, then back to rainbow flashing finally to star studded black as they slid from the channel and into the sky. Elena let out a sigh and called the all clear over the loudspeaker. All three men looked towards the pilot house, knowing Kiera had been in there during the crossing. Elena turned towards her.

“Are you doing okay?” She asked. Kiera had her hand wrapped around the brass railing. Her knuckles had bled to white and every part of Kiera seemed stiff. Her breath was timed as if Kiera was counting to keep from hyperventilating. She let out a slow and steady breath.

“Where are we?” Kiera asked. Her voice was calm and composed even though Elena noticed she didn’t loosen her grip on the railing.

“The channel that is kind of a dark spot between to pillars of light? It actually leads us into space.” Elena saw panic spark in Kiera’s eyes. “We are safe. We are in Sector 86-4 which is protected space.” Elena kept her voice low and calm. “The ship has what is called micro netting built into its hull. It forms a matrix that keeps oxygen around the ship. So within our railings it will be breathable air just like if the ship were in the ocean.” Elena pointed to Mateo and Andre moving about the deck on some random task. Personally she thought they were just milling in case she needed to point out to Kiera that the deck was safe. She appreciated it. “See,” Elena told Kiera. “They are working on deck with no problems.” Kiera leaned forward to look but did not let go of the railing. She nodded slowly.

“And this archaeological site?”

“On a planet we are investigating. There is currently no intelligent life we can detect on the planet but there are ruins. The pictures were taken during initial investigation.” Elena decided not to point out that the photos were taken by un-manned probes and that they would be the first to attempt entry. One shock was enough at the moment.

“I see,” Kiera said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Elena watched as Kiera slowly uncurled her fingers from the railing. “I see why you couldn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“Does this mean you aren’t angry?” Elena asked.

“Kinda still too freaked out to be angry,” Kiera answered. Mateo made his way up to the pilot house. Kiera flinched a bit when he pulled the door open but didn’t make a sound.

“The view on deck is pretty awesome,” He told Kiera. “In case you are interested.” Kiera glanced out of the window and nodded to herself.

“I could be interested,” she told him. Mateo held out his hand and she gripped it. Elena saw Mateo wince. Kiera saw it too and apologized as she relaxed her grip. Kiera let Mateo lead her out onto the deck. Elena watched them go and exhaled with relief.

“So far so good,” she said to herself. “Lets hope it can last the two days we need to get into the new channel.”

Storm Chaser: Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Walking to work after so long on the ship felt wonderful to Elena. While she walked much more on board the ship than she did in the normal course of a day often times it was without the benefit of the fresh breeze. Flowers had bloomed in her absence and trees put out new leaves. Spring was beginning to fade into summer. A light breeze teased the ends of her hair as she walked. She pushed the strange dream of the night before aside and enjoyed the moment.

There was much to be done before she once again boarded the Storm Chaser. Much of the gathering of supplies for the planet side trip she had delegated to Benjamin. In exchange for being allowed to visit the planet with them he was more than willing to pick up the needed goods. Elena consoled herself with the fact that the military might be watching her and as she had never really been the sort to spend time camping or hiking it would look strange if she started. There were some things Elena would still need to secure and she had a list tucked into her pocket but most of her time would be occupied in making sure everything earthside was squared away.

Elena ran through her list as she walked. Passing Zoltoy didn’t even dim her good spirits with speculation. In addition to the imports store and Nibbles, she would need to check on the pilots and their progress. She hoped some of them had made some sort of progress towards overcoming the Calling for their sake as well as her own. If they did they could get a version of their old lives back. That would help them and monetarily, as they were now a part of her House, it would help her. From a more practical standpoint she wanted to present the proposal to the council by saying that not only could she go through the channel but other pilots could as well, if they had the Calling.

She smiled, a somewhat fiercer smile than usual. Being able to open new channels would drastically alter trade and it would put the affected pilots who had been treated so shabbily at the forefront of the game. Elena sopped in her tracks as a thought hit her. She had been thinking of the use of the Calling as vindication for the grounded pilots. Somehow she had missed the complete flip of power this would bring. Pilots such as Riko would be forced to make alliances with people like Elena if they wanted their Houses to stay viable. Elena blinked in the sunlight. Pilots like Therese who had never been affected with the Calling would also have to make such alliances or be relegated to running only the old channels.

“Like transport duty,” Elena whispered. She shook her head trying to dislodge the thought. “Therese will kill me.” Elena shook her head again and continued walking towards the stores, pushing the thoughts away in the name of practicality.

A few hours later her brain was spinning with practicality. She dove in eagerly. Both stores were doing well, a fact that sort of amazed her given the current economy. Apparently many people who would normally host a party at a fancy restaurant or other venue had opted for more scaled down versions in their homes. Her wares were exotic enough to seem decadent yet not cost prohibitive.

She found people hosting gatherings also liked to buy one of two new items from the imports store to freshen up their home before the party. All in all business was good. Roger made a few suggestions for supplies based on what was selling and what was selling out. He also asked for Consuelo’s contact information and permission to host a few tasting events in the store. Elena gladly approved and suggested he work not only with Susan for a tie in but with Doug’s Wineshop as they had done at the opening. She hadn’t met the owner for the specialty meats store yet but suggested Roger make that contact and see if they were willing to be brought in. Roger smiled as he began to make plans and Elena got the impression he loved to host parties. She also had the feeling he would do well working with Consuelo.

“The opera singer and the mad chef,” Elena mused, picturing the scene. She chuckled to herself. “That sounds like a really bad reality TV show.”

Once the stores were settled, Elena found herself bouncing around the neighborhood as she spoke with the re-located Pilots. As a group they were much more at ease than they had been when she first met them and they seemed to be forming a group. Some of them had even paired up to be roommates.

“Maybe they are sharing the same salon,” Elena thought. Normally a Pilot’s hair was grown long and pulled into one long braid. Typically this braid ended at the small of the back. The pilots in her little group had all opted for shorter hairdos. Some had trimmed their locks shorter but left it long enough to still tie back in a ponytail. Others had gone with a bob style closer to her style. She wondered if they were just trying to blend or if they felt they had to cut their hair since she did. Elena decided if it were the latter she didn’t want to know.

The haunted desperate look had been erased from their eyes. All of them reported progress in dealing with the Calling, fewer headaches, nightmares turning into vivid dreams to be recorded, and a more calm state of mind.

“Amazing how calm you get when you realize you won’t loose your entire world after all,” she thought. The women she chatted with were no longer frightened and beaten down. They were confident and self composed. “They look like pilot’s again,” Elena thought with a grin. She found it interesting that they each seemed to dream of different Channels waiting to be opened. She wondered if which Channel a person was drawn to had something to do with her personality. It was an odd thought.

Even odder was the respect it was granted when she mentioned it to the three pilots she was having coffee with at the moment. They were sitting at an outdoor table of a neighborhood coffee shop, each sipping from her own choice of beverage when the thought occurred to her. Elena shared it in a musing sort of way, happy to have random conversation with other pilots again, conversation that didn’t have to be completely guarded. They all nodded slowly and thoughtfully at her comment, not as though they agreed with her assessment but rather as if she were a teacher imparting wisdom. Elena decided she would keep her random thoughts for a different venue.

She was pleased to see they had all more or less blended into earthside life. Many of them had chosen to go back to school, most either part time or just one class that interested them. The rational was that students often lived a somewhat erratic life and it was not unheard of for a student to drop out for a semester. This kind of life allowed them the freedom to still work towards becoming full time pilots again.

“And more people are going back to school after being laid off,” Jasmine told her handing Elena the list of classes she was planning to take.

Elena had to admit is was a pretty good plan. The neighborhood Elena had moved to, which she had to admit was rapidly becoming a guild district, was close enough to the university not to excite too much trouble with the cover story and Elena was interested to find that the classes being taken all related to the new kind of pilot life that seemed to be evolving. Like Jasmine, each of the pilots presented her with a list of classes they planned to enroll in when the fall semester began. She reviewed the lists with interest.

Business classes were high on the list, as were general marketing classes which came as very little surprise. It was clear the guild as a whole would need to move out of strictly the supply side of the free market system if they were going to survive. She thought of the man at the guild party for Nibbles and who he was baffled about her partnerships with non-guild members. It seemed things might be changing in more than one way.

What did surprise her was the number of computer classes and graphics classes in the mix. She assumed they would go towards both product design and internet sales of off world goods. A fair number of botany, chemistry and other physical science classes were also involved. Each one of the women she talked with had thought out a basic plan and integrated it with their own existing skill set as well as some of the skills they thought they could use based on their dreams.

Elena was impressed and told each of them that as well. She was surprised by how pleased everyone was that she liked their ideas until the end of the day when she realized why.

Elena finished meeting with everyone and decided to take her reader and notes for proposals to the park to work. Since the reader looked so much like a Kindle she doubted it would attract much notice. She was settling in to one of the picnic tables when it occurred to her why they had been so pleased with her reaction. She nearly slapped her own forehead for her own stupidity.

Most of the pilots had grown up in very restrictive households. Alexandro had been her head of household growing up and while he was strict about certain topics he expected her to learn, in many areas he let her go her own way. Mateo and even Therese had been given the freedom once the required topics were learned where their grandfather was concerned. Therese’s mother cut off a lot of the slack that Mateo and Elena still enjoyed by requiring extra classes in politics. Even then Elena had been aware this was not the case in many houses. Therese’s mother was closer to the norm than Alexandro had been.

“They were waiting for my approval,” Elena thought to herself. She wondered what other duties she was expected to perform that she had missed. She also wondered why anyone ever wanted to be in charge of anything. She made a mental note to spend some more time studying the two small books Alexandro had given her as well as working on her proposal. Considering at least one of the pilots now under the care of her house had come from Riko’s Elena had a feeling her interpretations of House rules were going to be a big change for her fledgling family.

She returned home with much of her potential proposal laid out for both the Council and the potential Alliance with Riko. Kiera was coming in at the same time and told Elena that she would be interested in accepting the contract work and in making the trip with her. Elena gave her a basic list of things she would need for the trip. Kiera’s mouth quirked up at the corners and Elena had a second realization of stupidity.

“You’ve been on sites like this before,” Elena said.

“Yeah,” Kiera responded. “But it is nice to see you have the same expectations as I do.”

“There is that,” Elena said. “Normally we have a fifty pound rule for gear. That is personal gear. If you have work related gear I would prefer it be in a separate bag as we have different weight calculations for that.” Kiera nodded.

“That’s pretty standard as well,” Kiera said. “At least when flying out of country.” They parted at the stair well and Elena went into her apartment feeling like she had kicked a snowball down a mountainside.

“I really hope there isn’t a village in the valley,” She told Spin as she began to pull her own gear together.

Storm Chaser: Chapter 46

46.

Elena tapped the steering wheel. Kiera really did sound like a good idea. One of the reasons she had not made a call to some of the listed personnel in the guild is that they were not loyal to her family and she had virtually no chance of swearing them to secrecy. Sure they would sign the papers but realistically if their head of house asked, they would tell. That was just the way the guild worked. You may take a job outside your family but in the end it was the family that held your loyalty. Someone not tied to the guild by any other connection would not have that problem. The time when secrecy was no longer even remotely possible was fast approaching but she hoped to stretch it just a little longer.

“At least until I have a full plan in place.” Bowing to the inevitable, Elena reached for her cell phone and when she stopped at the light she called Peter’s number. She half expected to be sent to voicemail and was startled when he actually picked up.

“Good evening Elena, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Hello,” Elena said mentally re-phrasing the conversation in her head. Her opening line for leaving a voicemail was now obsolete. “Hi,” she repeated. He chuckled. “Sorry I wasn’t expecting a person,” She explained.

“Of course, I rarely allow actual people to answer my phone.” She could hear the amusement in his voice and rolled her eyes, more at herself than him.

“Actually I was wondering if you knew how to vet a non-guild member for potential guild employment.”

“Ah, you have someone you wish to hire?” She could hear his interest sharpening.

“Possibly,” she said. “I need to find out if she would be allowed before I look at her seriously.”

“And is there a reason you would look to this particular non-guild member before a regular guild member?” Elena shrugged and realized he couldn’t see her. She pulled into the garage behind her building and parked.

“She is already here,” Elena answered, ignoring the qualifications angle. “We’ve already had so many new people move in that I figured using someone local would attract less suspicion.”

“That is a very good idea,” he said. “Since you are listed not only as the head of your own house but as a friend of the Guild you are only required to have one council member vet your choice. Given your situation the Council at large presumed you would proceed into any arrangements with caution.” Not for the first time Elena squirmed at the thought of the council discussing her. “I can of course act in that capacity if you would give me the name or names.” Elena thought for a minute and then gave him Kiera’s name.

“I know that due to her being my neighbor Smith and Jonathan have had contact with her,” Elena told him. “How long do you think it will take to have her vetted?”

“Are you in a hurry?” he asked, once again sounding amused. Elena was actually getting a little tired of people being amused by her.

“Actually yes,” she responded. There was a pause and Elena fought the urge to apologize for her tone.

“I can have that information for you this evening,” he said, the amusement had drained from his voice and his tone was cautious.

“That would be wonderful,” Elena said, unsure if she had angered him or not. By this point she could tell his shift in facial expressions but without the visual his tone could mean anything. She didn’t push it and was soon hanging up the phone and going up to her apartment.

After her shower Elena felt disinclined to go out again in search of groceries and ordered Chinese takeout from the shop around the corner. She flipped through the photographs as she ate, wondering about the people who had once called this place home. With the atmosphere and such similar to earth she imagined they would be carbon based life forms but she knew better than to assume they would look anything like humans. She smiled at the pictures. Anyone who spent any time on the Docking Facility would never make that mistake.

She had the feeling Mateo’s assessment of an abandoned planet was correct. While intelligent life could have many forms she was usually able to tell from the first entry into a channel a little about the world. The images in the photographs matched her dreams as well as the few glimpses she had gotten with the ship in proximity to the open channel. All of those same senses told her there were no sentient beings located on the planet. She would have to trust those senses.

True to his word, Peter called back with some basic information regarding Kiera. Apparently she had no ties to any military or Para-military groups. She was not known to have any associations with radical groups and although she had a voter’s registration she was not a member of any political party. In addition Peter informed Elena that Kiera’s bank account showed no irregular drafts, she had a decent amount of savings and until that afternoon had worked as a member of the adjunct faculty for the university in town while doing consulting work on the side. Elena thought of the box Kiera was carrying.

“I don’t suppose you know why she was let go?” Elena asked, feeling like a snoop.

“Budget cuts apparently,” Peter replied. He still had the cautious tone and it was starting to weird Elena out. “Many of the adjunct professors were let go as they are technically contract employees and do not have tenure.”

“I see,” Elena replied.

“So the end result is that there is nothing in her record that would prevent her from being hired and you are authorized to use your own judgment in the matter. By our system she is vetted, however should a problem arise from your decision you and your house will be expected to deal with it.” A shiver went up Elena’s spine.

“I understand.” She told him. An hour later she was still mulling over the words and his tone when a knock sounded on her door. A glance through the judas hole confirmed it was Kiera with Elena’s accumulated mail.

“No Smith tonight,” she said to herself as she opened the door. Perhaps the military had gotten the hint and realized that contacting her during meal time was unacceptable. Probably a good thing as in her current mood she was more likely to open the door, kick them in the shins and then close the door rather than pretend to be polite, no matter what the council mandate required of her. Not for the first time she wondered why the Guild had agreed to deal with the military.

“Hi,” she said. Her eyes widened at Kiera’s bundle. “Wow that is a lot of shredded trees. Come on in.” Elena reached for the stack but Kiera shook her head.

“I have it balanced just right; I have the feeling if I try to pass it we’ll be picking it up off the floor. Where do you want it?” Elena pointed to the coffee table and Kiera set it down as gently as she could. As soon as her hands left the stack it started to list to one side. Kiera split it into two stacks and backed away as if expecting it to explode.

“Thanks so much for looking out for that,” Elena told her. “I know it is more than usual.”

“Not a problem. Hope you at least went somewhere fun.”

“Fun would be relative,” Elena commented. She indicated the bottle of wine she had opened to have a glass with dinner. The food had been put away but the bottle was still out. “Care for a glass?”

“Sure,” Kiera said. “After today I could use a drink.”

“Bad day?” Elena asked.

“Something like that,” Kiera confirmed as Elena retrieved a second glass from the cabinet. “Budget cuts at the university.” Elena poured a glass and handed it to Kiera, then added a little more to her glass. The stack of photos was still on the kitchen table but they were face down.

“Layoffs?” Elena asked with a frown.

“Yup,” Kiera said taking a sip of the wine. She shrugged. “At least I’ll get to do more contract work.” She didn’t seem too thrilled by the prospect and Elena guessed that the state of the economy might make contract assignments slim. She felt a little like a vulture.

“Mateo mentioned you did something with plants,” Elena commented. She eased into one of the kitchen chairs and Kiera took the seat across from her.

“Something like that. I work with plants and archaeology more or less.” She smiled ruefully. “Unless you want the technical details. Mateo is your cousin?”

“Yes,” Elena responded. “He is a technological mechanical person. And he loves giving the technical details although I confess I mostly tune them out.” Kiera laughed.

“Mateo actually mentioned the plants aspect of what you do because I have a project coming up that more o less required someone with more biologically based skills than either Mateo or I possess.”

“Really?” Kiera asked. Elena nodded.

“I don’t know if you would be interested though. It will be more or less two phases. One phase will be in the field and one phase in the lab. We are looking to contract both parts and part of phase two will involve setting up the lab.”

“Sounds interesting. Is that the lab Mateo is working in now?”

“Yes he has the mechanical side more or less arranged.”

“This wouldn’t by any chance be what has kept various military personnel coming around would it?”

“It is associated. The military is interested in what we are doing but we are trying not to have them involved.” Elena paused. “And as the situation involves some delicate business negotiations most of this is confidential.”

“Illegal?” Kiera asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“No,” Elena said. “Unorthodox but not illegal.”

“What exactly are we talking about?” Kiera asked.

“You understand this is confidential and I can’t give you any names or locations until a contract is signed?” Kiera nodded and Elena handed her the stack of photographs she had brought home. Slowly Kiera flipped through them. She stared at each one intently. When she had made it through the stack, she put them down and stared at Elena in the same intent way.
“What is it you need a consultant to do?”

“We are taking plant samples and recording basic biological information, hoping to find uses for some of these plants other than purely ornamental. Commercially viable uses if possible.” Elena paused and Kiera nodded her understanding. “The fact that you deal with some archaeology will help as we would like to find out basic information from these buildings as well.” Kiera looked back down at the stack of photographs and said nothing.

“We will be leaving for a field visit in three days. With travel and on site work we will be gone approximately two weeks. I do not know what your schedule is like for the next little while but if you are interested in the field portion I would like for you to go to the site with us.” Kiera continued to stare at the top photograph. She tapped the edge of her wine glass with a fingernail and then took a hefty swig from the glass.

“Can I let you know by close of business tomorrow?” She asked finally.

“Yes that would be fine.” Elena told her. Kiera stood and Elena followed suit.

“A lot to think about then,” Kiera said with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Elena let Kiera out of the apartment and returned to sit at the kitchen table. She looked at Kiera’s half full glass as she sipped her own. She wasn’t sure what reaction she had expected and felt slightly guilty for not explaining the not insignificant detail of the project being located on a different planet. Elena took her glass of wine to the living room. She turned on the television and flipped until she found something she could tolerate for background noise as she began sorting her mail.

“It isn’t like she would actually believe me if I told her,” She said to herself as she worked. “She would just think I was crazy. Some things have to actually be seen to be believed.”

After a while she decided bed was a good option. Her hair was dry and her mail sorted. She shook her head as she took all but eight envelopes off to the trash can. As always she wondered how to actually stop the circulars from arriving in her mail box each week. And as usual she found no solution. She drifted off still trying to puzzle it out in a vague way. As she drifted into dreams the paper of the circulars became leaves. The leaves turned into plants and Elena found herself wandering in the jungles from the pictures. The colors were almost painfully brilliant. The air was thick with moisture and fragrance. Elena walked down one of the overgrown road beds. The plants offered a nice cushion for her steps but beneath them she could feel the solidity of the rock.

In the dream she was approaching one of the buildings. She studied it as she moved. It was composed of the blocks of gray stone she had seen from the pictures. They were much larger than she had suspected. Elena stretched out her hands to either side and couldn’t touch both sides. The top stood at least three feet above her head and when she peered down to where the stone met the earth she got the impression that part of it was buried. The space between the stones was barely big enough to slip her fingernail and there was no mortar between the joints. Where the sunlight hit the stone she could see it was not simply a uniform gray but there were flecks of blue, silver and copper sparkling. A bead of sweat formed at her hairline and rolled down her neck. Elena shivered slightly with its passing. She stepped into the shadows as she moved around looking for an entrance.

Once in the shadows the temperature dropped. Elena blinked hard in the lack of bright sunlight as her eyes adjusted. The road stopped at the building and a small pathway hugged it like a sidewalk. She came to an indentation on the wall of stone. It was not a door but the stone that comprised this section of the wall’s face was set back from its neighbors but two feet. Elena reached in to make certain this was not a door. Her hand hit stone but this was not the smooth stone that comprised the rest of the rock face. Its entire surface was carved.

Elena reached into her pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. She switched it on and let the beam play on the carvings. Much of the door was carved with simple horizontal squiggly lines. The primitive part of her brain said water, an insight helped when her eyes picked out the image of what could have been a boat. She focused her light on the boat. The image reminded her of a drawing she had once seen in a museum of a Viking long boat. The one difference being that this boat had huge wings that appeared to be lifting it out of the water and into the sky. Elena reached out and touched the boat. As her hands touched it the stone dissolved and Elena fell into the darkness of the inside of the building. She awoke in her bed before she hit bottom.

Storm Chaser: Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The next morning Elena watched the Docking Facility fade into the distance with a sense of welcome relief. Thoughts of Peter, Riko, Danvers, Therese and the house of Librarians danced in her head, tangling into messy snarls. The information she was intent on downloading from the reader and into her brain didn’t help matters. It wasn’t until she and Benjamin retrieved the latest set of probes that her mind began to shift.

Mateo would have come up with some preliminary data about the planet. She would soon be able to see if the dreams were an accurate gage and she would also have something concrete to base her report and requests to both the Council and Riko. Possibilities could be crystallized into actions. Nerves however began to gain ascendancy as she neared the channel, thoughts of the military intruding on her plans. She signaled the channel entry and piloted the Storm Chaser through the center. The lights swirled and she braced for impact. Water sprayed over the bow as the ship coasted into the Atlantic. Elena scanned the horizon. Nothing.

“Either they are still refining their new prototype or they are getting sneakier about sending their ships in,” She told Benjamin. Neither of them had any belief that the military would just pack up and go home.

“Which do you think it is?” He asked. Elena could only shrug. She didn’t know enough about Thompson to tell. For all she knew he could be the sneakiest bastard in the world. With a military encounter off the table for this trip, Elena could fully focus on Mateo’s potential findings. She and Benjamin debated the possible outcome. New plants, new metals, new intergalacticly salable goods were all on the table, as were new diseases and other dangers. For the commerce side she figured between Andre, Mateo and herself they had a pretty good shot at finding something.

Even if they didn’t find anything they could sell, there was always the possibility of creating something. Starting with a permanent human friendly settlement via the librarians could make it a center of activity and commerce, even if the world was blasted rock with no natural resources of its own. After docking and transferring cargo Elena bid Benjamin good bye and headed back to town, Spin curled up comfortably in the passenger’s seat. For the first time in a while she would be spending more than one night in her apartment. With luck Mateo would have enough good information to try to take the Storm Chaser through the channel on the next trip out. She had a hard time keeping her foot from flooring the accelerator.

Instead of driving home Elena went directly to Mateo’s new workshop. As she suspected, he was there. She stepped into the room to find Mateo and Andre sorting through pictures and papers on one of the work tables. Andre was perched on a stool with his feet hooked on the rungs. Mateo was frowning at a piece of paper.

“Something wrong?” She asked him. Spin trotted across the room wound her way through Mateo’s legs and sat by Andre’s feet. She meowed loudly until he bent down to rub her ears. Mateo broke into a grin at the sight of his cousin.

“You came straight from the ship didn’t you?” He asked. She frowned.

“Of course, I knew you’d have data and were likely to be holed up in your lab,” she answered walking over to the table. Andre shook his head and sighed heavily.

“Pay up man,” Mateo said to him. Andre dug into his pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. He passed it over to a grinning Mateo who tucked it into his own pocket.

“I bet that you would at least go home for a shower first,” Andre replied.

“Information first,” she said with a grin. “Shower later.”

“Told ya,” Mateo said. He held up one of the pictures and waved it in the air like a fan. “So can I interest you in a little information?” Elena reached for the picture. He dropped it into her hands. Elena blinked hard and frowned.

“Is that a building?” She said. “I was betting on it being un-inhabited.” Plans began to rearrange themselves in her head.

“It is uninhabited as far as we can tell,” Mateo said. Look at the state of these buildings. They are ancient and in none of the images we managed to get is there any sign of intelligent life. Whoever built those buildings left a long time ago.” Elena began to flip through other pictures. Mateo had separated them into four piles. One pile contained pictures of empty ocean above the water level, the second from below the surface of the water with glimpses of the aquatic life, one stack featured images of the sky showing constellations and the final stack showed glimpses of the land.

Each image was marked with the exact location date and time. From the water shots they could estimate how long it would take to get from the channel to land. The sky shots would enable her to create a searchable area for the Libraries archives. Both were excellent but for the moment it was the stack containing the land images that captured her attention.

Elena flipped through looking at ruins that would send an archaeologist into fits and lots of tropical looking flora. Mateo was right. Everything looked abandoned. All of the buildings were composed of what looked like light grey stone, meticulously shaped into giant blocks. There were roads in some cases. They also were of stone. In places small plants pushed through the stones, in others the accumulated dead plant matter obscured much of the road beds. Even when the roads were completely covered and overgrown it was easy to see where they had once stood. Only small plants covered the wide flat surface of the rock still leaving broad pathways through the trees.

She had to agree with Mateo’s empty land assessment. In addition to the lack of movement, there were none of the small pathways one would expect to find. Shortcuts worn by traveler’s intent on daily routines were completely absent. No one had lived here in quite some time. There were occasional glimpses of wildlife in some of the shots. Butterflies and birds seemed to be very prolific. She also saw what looked to be something dark with claws in one of the shadows. She had the feeling none of those creatures had built the civilization now in ruins. She set the stack of pictures down.

“Do we know anything about…” Mateo interrupted her question to hand her a piece of paper summarizing his findings.

“The air is breathable and samples of the water on land are potable,” he told her pointing out the analysis of the collected samples. In addition to a camera the probes had collected samples of the water and air. There was no point going to a planet where they could not breathe. “The saline content of the ocean is similar to our own. From what little I know about plant life in general I would say that our options are that A) it is a very warm planet, B) we hit it at high summer or C) we are located somewhere in the tropical or semi-tropical region. Maybe a combination of those.” Elena noticed a fat book with colorful plants on the cover resting on the edge of the table. She only caught the words botanical and guide. Mateo raised his eyebrow at her and she waved him off, still scanning the sheet.

“I am still looking for a botanist,” she told him.

“And someone versed in medicine?” he reminded her.

“Yes and someone versed in medicine.” She said with a smile. “I downloaded the files of potential folks while I was on the Docking Facility. I just wanted to know where we stood before beginning inquiries.” She looked up and him. “I know this isn’t your thing. But thanks for handling it so far.”

“Well I did get to test some of my new toys,” he reminded her.

“Speaking of,” she said handing him the box she had brought with her. It contained the latest data.

“Excellent,” He told her. “I’ll add it to the mix.”

“I’m hoping to ship out in about three days,” she told them. Mateo nodded.

“Actually staying earthside for more than a night?” Andre asked with a grin. “Getting tired of the ship already?” Mateo shook his head.

“Not exactly,” Elena said. “Although I could do without the politics.” She looked over at Mateo. “Threse was in Danvers when Peter asked me to meet him there for dinner.” Mateo’s eyes widened and he began to chuckle.

“That is a story I will have to hear,” He said.

“It is pretty funny if you weren’t involved.” She admitted. “Unfortunately, I was involved. You will get a kick out of it.” She turned back towards Andre. “I’ll need to check on the stores and see that supplies are running well. I’ll also need to check in on the other pilots to see if they are settling in well and making progress with the calling.”

“I forgot the duties of a business owner and Head of House would temporarily ground you.” Andre said with a smile. Elena and Mateo exchanged a glance.

“That is merely a side effect,” Mateo pointed out. “She will be here for three days to gather supplies.”

“Supplies?”

“We are taking the Storm Chaser through the new channel,” Elena said. “While we will be spending the night on the ship, to avoid any unfriendly beasties we will be staying planet side, on the new planet, for about a week.” She told him. “Since the new channel is in protected space and close to where the Marta lets out anyone watching would think we went on a normal run.”

“I see,” Andre said. “You should get some interesting information then.” He sounded almost saddened by the fact.

“Did you know that our friend the graphics designer here is also pretty handy with a camera?” Mateo asked her.

“I do remember someone mentioning that,” Elena said. “You don’t suppose he would be interested in coming along to act as the photographer for this trip? After all if I am to put together a glossy presentation packet for the council I will need some pretty pictures as well as someone to put the brochure together for me.” She winked at Andre. “So do you want to come along?” Andre smiled broadly.

“Really?” He looked from Elena to Mateo and back again.

“Really,” Elena confirmed. “It will be a bit dangerous,” she cautioned him. “But we really do need someone to do some photo documentation.”

“I’m in,” he said eagerly enough to have Mateo laughing. “We can tell everyone at the store that I am taking some personal time off since we are between ad campaigns and I need to see family.”

“That works,” Elena said with a laugh. She picked up the stack of photos containing buildings. “Are these the only ones we have?”

“No,” Mateo said. “I made large scale copies as well as the smaller portable ones that you have there so we could bring them with us if needed.” He pointed to one of the back tables. Stacks of images were printed the size of a regular sheet of paper. Elena nodded and reached for the stack of ocean shots taken above the water.

“We will need to calculate the distance between the channel and land,” She began. Mateo smiled.

“Already done,” he told her. Mateo handed her a sheet of paper filled with dots and lines, the occasional word and number dotting the page between. “The dots represent the location of the photos taken. Blue means that the camera was still over water and Brown is land. Yellow is a shot that contains a building. I have a different set of dots and lines for the skit to begin mapping the constellations.” From Mateo’s note it looked as though land was a two day trip from the channel.

“And you think you need an active volcano for your failed experiments,” she told him. “This is great.”

“I didn’t say I needed,” Mateo stressed. “Just wanted.”

“Uh huh.” Elena turned to Andre. “Do you think you could get enough equipment together in three days?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem. Do you have a lined storage box for digital camera chips or will I need to go the film route?”

“We have a storage space. Digital will be fine,” she told him. “Do you mind if I take these with me to look over more closely?” She asked Mateo pointing to the stack of pictures containing ancient buildings. “If I can get a plant person to go with us on this trip it might be beneficial to start with photos.”

“Sure, take the photos. If Jonathan or Smith stop you with them you can always claim they were vacation photos from Mexico of something.”

“True,” she replied. “And if they don’t believe me then I can always point out that digital photos rarely survive trips through the channel.” She grinned thinking of Smith’s fried camera memory card. “And now that I have information I think I will head home for that shower.”

“I think we are ready to head out too, Mind if we bum a ride?” Mateo asked. Elena lifted an eyebrow.

“We walked over after lunch figuring you would probably show up here first.”

“Sure I can drop you guys off.” She answered with a chuckle. Spin marched to the door and waited impatiently for the humans to gather their belongings and follow.

“I think she is hungry,” Andre commented as Spin let out a plaintive meow. Elena shook her head as she opened the door to the hallway.

“I don’t know how she could possibly be hungry,” Elena said. “I already feed her enough to make other people think I’m fattening her up to replace the thanksgiving turkey.”A woman was coming down the hall as the three of them and Spin entered the hallway. She was carrying a large box and didn’t see the cat until she stepped on it’s tail. Spin yowled and the woman dropped the box. It went tumbling down the stairs.

“Kiera?” Elena said recognizing the woman now that the large box was not obscuring her view. Kiera looked like she was trying to slow her heart beat back to a normal speed.

“Elena?” She said. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see her there.” Spin ducked behind Andre’s legs and glared at Kiera. “Is she okay?”

“I’m sure she will be fine,” Elena commented earning her own death glare from Spin. “I hope there was nothing breakable in your package.”

“Package? Oh yeah that,” she said looking down the stairs. “No nothing breakable. Are you in town for a while?”

“About three days this time. I imagine my mail has piled quite high at this point. I can come get it tonight if you will be home.”

“I have a bunch of errands to run today but I should be back this evening, I can drop it off.”
“Great,” Elena said.

“Why don’t I help you get your box to your car?” Mateo offered.

“Oh that would be nice,” Kiera said with a polite smile. It was not the usual smile women gave Mateo and Elena wondered if her cousin had made a rejected pass. “I wasn’t aware you two knew each other.”

“Family,” Mateo pointed out fairly quickly. “Elena is my cousin.” Elena and Andre exchanged glances and hung back a little as Mateo went down the stairs with Kiera to retrieve the fallen box. The followed a little slowly and veered off towards Elena’s car as Mateo followed Kiera to hers.

“See you later,” Kiera said with a wave. Elena returned it. Elena and Andre settled into Elena’s car, Spin curled up in Andre’s lap. To her surprise Mateo returned just as she fastened her seatbelt. He got into the back seat and shut the door behind him.

“So how do you know her?” Mateo asked. Andre started laughing.

“She is my neighbor,” Elena replied turning on the ignition and easing out of her parking space.

“The one whose apartment Jonathan bugged?”

“That’s the one.”

“You know she is a paleo-biologist right?” He said. “It means she deals with both plants and archeological type stuff.” Elena looked at him in the rearview mirror.

“You’ve been paying attention,” she commented.

“Close attention,” Andre said. “Ever since she didn’t drop into a swoon in his presence.”

“Really?” Elena said with a grin. “No swooning? My my, you don’t think he has lost his touch do you?” Mateo heaved a heavy sigh.

“I thought she was interesting so I asked. There is no harm in that,” he said. “But I mention this for your benefit,” he told her with exaggerated dignity.

“Oh,” she said. “Because you know she has been vetted by the guild?”

“No,” Mateo said somewhat deflating. “I don’t know if she has been vetted. “But I’m pretty sure she has just been laid off. The box looked like stuff you would take home after cleaning out your desk.” He paused for a moment. “And since she has the skills you need, and you know her AND she is already here, it might solve a lot of problems.”

“I’d have to get someone to sign off on using her,” Elena pointed out. “And that would be assuming she wanted to work with me.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Mateo asked.

“Because she seems overly spooked by the military and working with someone who looks to be a military magnet may not be something she is up for.” Elena told him.

“Oh,” Mateo said. “She would be perfect though. Since she doesn’t have any guild connections she wouldn’t have pressure from her family to let them in on what we are doing. And if she is already here the military won’t know you went out and hired a botanist.”

“Which would be good,” Elena said thoughtfully. “You know you are almost getting to be as devious as grandfather.”

“I bet Peter would vet her if you called,” Andre said. Elena glanced at him as she pulled up to the stop light. He shrugged. “He has the resources to check into her past fairly quickly and if you asked him not only would he be happy you called him instead of Alexandro or Riko but he would also get some insider information on what you are up too.”

“Insider information?” Mateo said. “We could just be checking into Elena’s neighbor.”

“True,” Andre said but even if that were the case he could use just that little bit of information to poke at Riko for months.” Andre looked at Elena as they moved forward again. “They really don’t get along.”

“I picked up on that,” Elena said dryly. They passed Zoltoy consulting it’s shop front gleaming with new glass and fresh paint. All three of them looked at the shop as they drove past. No one said a word, as if the store could hear for it’s owner. The turned a corner and it was lost to sight. Elena pulled to a stop in front of Mateo’s building. Both men got out.

“I’ll think about it,” she told Mateo. He nodded. As she drove home Elena wondered if calling Peter counted as a favor and if so what he would charge her for it.