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.