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.