Storm Chaser: Chapter 54

Chapter 54

“Good Afternoon to you USS Maine, I hope you and your crew are doing well today,” Elena responded into the radio’s microphone. Beside her Mateo and Benjamin tried not to laugh. There was a pause on the other line as though they were unsure how to respond. Elena guessed she was not following proper protocol. At this point she was not in the mood to make concessions.

“Good afternoon to you as well,” came the hesitant reply. Elena did not respond.

“I have a feeling they are going to want to come over for a chat,” Mateo said.

“I agree,” Elena said. She grinned wickedly. “We could always invite them to dinner.” She looked to Benjamin.

“I could pull something fairly fancy together if you give me a couple of hours,” he told her.

“We’d have to make discrete plates for Andre and Kiera,” she said. “But I rather like the option.”

“What are you thinking?” Mateo asked.

“I think we need to make this as un-military as possible.”

“Switch the game up?” Mateo asked.

“Something like that,” She said. “Mostly I just don’t feel like playing any more. The official channel of communication is Peter. They know that. So if they want to by-pass official channels then they are going to have to adapt.”

“USS Maine to Storm Chaser.”

“Still here,” Elena replied.

“The unnamed craft you assisted is the property of the United States government.”

“I had the feeling it was governmental. Budget cuts must have hit pretty hard if you are scrimping on the basics.” There was a pause.

“Basics.” The word were repeated slowly as if the listener doubted his hearing. Elena wondered if she was speaking with the radio operator or if the captain had put her on a loud speaker. She had the feeling that if it was the latter the USS Maine probably had a few crewmen trying to stifle snickers much the same way as Mateo and Benjamin were.

“Was there something you required USS Maine or were you just informing us of your prior claim of ownership so we would not think you were pirates and report you to the maritime authorities?” Benjamin pulled a notebook from his pocket and began writing.

“The officer in charge of this project wishes to speak with you.”

“Yet a crippling karaoke experience prevents him from taking the microphone,” she responded. “I understand of course. The same thing happened to a friend of mine. She still gets the shakes when she hears “The Safety Dance.”

“In person,” came the terse reply. Elena smiled. This was starting to be fun.

“I see.” Benjamin handed her his notebook she read it nodded at him and turned back to the radio as he headed down to the galley. “So will it just be Thompson this time or will the others be joining him?” Again there was a pause.

“There will be three men sent over,” came the response.

“Wonderful. Dinner is at seven we will expect your men a little before so they have time to freshen up before the meal. Dress is of course casual and under the circumstances we will not be expecting your men to bring the customary bottle of wine. Chef has informed me that tonight’s menu will begin with stuffed mushrooms followed by a light salad, chicken pasta with a basil cream sauce and finished with what he refers to as drunken figs. I believe those are poached with a reduction of port and honey of some sort. Are there any food allergies or dietary concerns I should warn Chef of, peanuts, shellfish that sort of thing?”

“No, ma’am, no food restrictions but...”

“Very well,” Elena said cutting him off. “We will expect your men shortly before seven then. Until then, Storm Chaser out.” Elena switched off the radio and Mateo broke out into laughter.

“Chef informs me,” he repeated shaking his head.

“I couldn’t resist,” she said.

“This should be fun,” Mateo said.

“I think that depends on their sense of humor,” Elena replied thinking of Smith. “Would you mind letting Kiera know to stay in her cabin? And it might be a good idea to have Andre watch the wheel during dinner. That way no one will actually be able to identify him. Maybe Benjamin can send up a plate.”

“Sure,” Mateo said. “I’ll also let chef know how many to expect for dinner.” Mateo left the pilot house chuckling to himself. Benjamin went to work, scents drifting up to Elena and making her hungry. In addition to letting Kiera and Andre know the basic plan, Mateo managed to clean himself up and change for dinner. He then relieved her at the helm and she retreated to her rooms to do the same. She settled on a nice shirt and a pair of slacks. She didn’t want to seem too dressed up but she did want to look like she and her crew made an effort at meal time. After all they had all been in worn jeans and t-shirts after a night of riding a storm the last time the military boarded her ship which was not an impressive sight. She put in a pair of emerald studs into her ears and ran a quick brush through her hair.

“Definitely need to make an appointment when I get back,” she promised herself. As it was nearing seven she made her way back to the pilot house. Andre was sitting on one of the folding chairs and eating from the plate Benjamin had sent up. Mateo was at the wheel looking envious.

“You get to eat at the table,” she reminded him.

“I know,” he said. “I dropped a plate off with Kiera too.”

“Good,” Elena answered. “It looks like our guests are on time.” She indicated the approaching motorized raft. “Will you let Benjamin know while I go and greet them?”

“Show time then,” Mateo said. Andre stood to take the wheel as they left.

“Have a good time,” he called after them. “Just don’t get us into too much trouble.” They walked to the deck with Mateo making a quick side trip to the galley. He was by Elena’s side as she lowered the latter to the approaching raft. As advertized three men were aboard the craft. Two climbed the ladder while one stayed on the raft. As this was their last approach, Elena was not surprised. Thompson and his minion were dressed as before but seemed surprised by their change of attire.

“Welcome aboard,” Elena said with a smile, gracious hostess mode kicking in. “Will your companion be joining you or remaining with your craft?” Thompson looked to the ladder.

“Remaining with the craft, actually.”

“Very well, we will make sure to send a plate back with you for him. If you will follow me.” Elena turned and walked towards the galley. Mateo made certain to be a few steps ahead of her so that he could open the door. She made sure to thank him and heard two uncertain thanks from the others as Mateo continued to hold the door for them. Elena had to blink hard as she entered the galley, certain that this was not the place she had shared many means with her crew. The table was laid with a snowy linen cloth. A tray containing mushrooms filled with a crab mixture was lace in the center with a stack of small plates next to it. A bottle of wine was uncorked next to a row of glasses. She turned a warm smile on her guests even as she wondered how Benjamin had managed to pull off this hat trick.
“Please, won’t you take a seat.” She gestured towards the table. They left the chair at the head of the table available for Benjamin as he would be traveling to and from the side board throughout the meal. Mateo sat to Elena’s left and with some hesitation Thompson took the seat across from her, the other man dropping into the last available chair. Benjamin moved from the cooking area to the table.

“Benjamin, this looks wonderful,” she told him. “Gentlemen this is our chef Benjamin and you have met Mateo. Benjamin, Mateo this is Thompson, of the USS Maine and his friend, um I’m sorry I don’t believe I caught your companion’s name.”

“Murphy, ma’am,” he replied after shooting a glance to Thompson.

“Murphy, then. Welcome.” As she was speaking Benjamin began pouring glasses and handing them around. Elena handed Thompson and Murphy plates and then handed one each to Mateo and Benjamin before taking one for herself. “Please help yourself, we are rather informal here after all.” As the words came out of her mouth she saw the edge of Mateo’s mouth quirk up and deliberately refused to look at him, afraid she would laugh and shatter the scene.

“Thank you ma’am,” Thompson said. He placed two mushrooms on his plate and then set the plate in front of him. Murphy did like wise. Mateo took three mushrooms and popped one into his mouth before the plate was even set down.

“These are excellent,” he told Benjamin after swallowing.

“I do try,” he said as he and Elena each took a serving from the tray and began to eat.

“Yes, we wished to speak with you about the ship you rescued.”

“For the second time,” Elena added. “Aren’t you eating?” Thompson looked at his plate picked up a mushroom and popped it into his mouth. Murphy followed suit. She had the feeling Murphy would have eaten earlier had Thompson not been there. “It was the same ship of course.”

“How do you know that?” Thompson asked, swallowing fast. Murphy chewed more slowly but reached for the second mushroom as if afraid his commander would order them to leave before he was done.

“The markings,” Elena replied calmly taking a sip of her wine. “The first ship had a dent and some scrapings from it’s time sky side. This one did as well. I am pleased to see it survived the storm.” Thompson eased and took another bite. Both men avoided the wine and she wondered if it was because they were on duty.

“Yes, well.” Thompson replied. Elena could almost see his brain sort through responses. This was not how he had pictured the evening. Elena smiled, please that for once she was not the one discomfited by conversations with the military.
“Yes, well, thank you very much for rendering assistance to the vessel.”

“So you still haven’t named it?” Elena asked. “Very unlucky for a ship.”

“Almost as bad as sailing with out a cat,” Benjamin added.

“True but maybe their sailors aren’t the superstitious type,” Mateo added reaching for another mushroom.

“All sailors are superstitious,” Benjamin added. “It goes with the breed.”

“Is that true?” Elena asked turning to Thompson.

“Some are I suppose,” he replied. She turned her gaze to Murphy.

“I carry a rabbit’s foot,” he admitted. Color rose to his cheeks.

“Very wise,” Elena said. “We make sure there is a cat on board.”

“Keeps more of the rabbits alive,” Mateo added. As no one was taking any more of the mushrooms Benjamin began clearing the appetizers from the table. Mateo stood and helped with the dishes. He also assisted Benjamin in bringing out individual bowls of pasta with chicken and basil cream. Elena sniffed appreciatively at her bowl.

“Smells delicious,” she said as Benjamin set down a basket of bread.

“Thanks” he said. “I figured a home-style recipe would go well with an informal meal.”

“So have you given thought to a name?” Elena asked. Thompson looked at his bowl as if she had asked him to name the pasta. “For the ship I mean? After all even without superstition it is a little cumbersome to keep referring to it as the unidentified ship.”

“Especially if we keep rescuing it,” Mateo added. Thompson poked at his pasta with a fork while Murphy eagerly dug into his bowl. Elena had the feeling his normal ship board fare paled in comparison to Benjamin’s cooking. Since her normal fare paled in comparison to Benjamin’s cooking she wasn’t going to fault him on it.

“Yes about that,” Thompson said. “We managed to solve the heat differential issues that cause the systems to overheat on the last voyage out,” he began glancing at Elena. She realized he didn’t want to out her as the source of the information. She nodded slightly in acceptance. While Benjamin and Mateo would do nothing with the information others would not take kindly to her assistance.

“Glad to hear it,” She replied. Elena picked up a piece of bread and dipped it into the basil cream sauce. “Are we allowed to ask what went wrong this time or is that classified?”
“Technically nothing went wrong,” Thompson replied, spearing a bite of his meal.

“So they were just hanging out?” Benjamin asked.

“Not exactly.” Thompson said. He took bite and chewed slowly. Elena had the feeling it was more to give himself time to figure out how to frame his reply than for any desire to fill his belly. Elena passed the bread to Murphy. He mumbled a thanks and used a piece to sop up the sauce.

“There were unforeseen complications,” Thompson said.

“I see.” There was silence while everyone ate and Thompson chose his words.

“The coordinates were off,” He began. “Our ship could take the channel out but not find the way back in.” Mateo snorted and nearly choked on his pasta.

“I believe I had a conversation with Smith about this topic quite some time ago,” Elena replied. “Although I can’t say I’m surprised he wasn’t listening.”

“Would you mind repeating the information?” Thompson asked. Elena took a sip of wine, feeling somewhat sorry for Thompson. She would hate to lead a crew based on Smith’s intel.

“Put quite simply the coordinates for a channel are based on where you enter. If you enter from earthside you would use the coordinates from your position on the globe. When you are sky side you would use the coordinates from your position in space. The entry coordinates are all relative to your current location.”

“And you told this to Smith?” he asked. His eyes locked on hers. There was no more hesitancy in his gaze.

“Yes, quite some time ago,” she said. “I believe Peter has stressed it a number of times as well as he is now the official correspondent.” Elena looked around and realized that everyone but Thompson had finished eating. “Are you finished?” She asked indicating his plate.

“Oh, yes ma’am, it was excellent I simply don’t have much of an appetite.”

“Of course,” She replied. “We’ll send it back with you as it can be reheated.” Again Benjamin and Mateo cleared the table. This time they returned with desert plates, each containing a couple of figs. Their tops had been split with an x so that they looked like blossoming flowers. The center had been filled with a dollop of sweetened cream. Again Elena marveled at Benjamin’s ingenuity amazed that such creations could come from her ship’s cupboard. Coffee and its various accoutrements joined the desert plates.

“And how do you determine coordinates sky side?” Thompson asked. The words sky side were hesitant and Elena wondered if the military had been using the term outer space.

“We use a very complicated machine,” she informed him.

“Really?”

“Yes it is called the human brain. A pilot’s brain to be precise.”

“Surely you have sensors…” he began. “You can’t just know where the channels are.”

“Actually she can,” Mateo said. “That’s why she is a pilot.”

“I believe all of this was discussed before,” Elena told him.

“There has to be a way,” Thompson said.

“If you find it let us know. It would serve as an excellent safety device for when our pilots are incapacitated,” Mateo said. Thompson looked deflated for a moment. He took a bite of his desert and looked thoughtful for a moment.

“And you say all of this was discussed?”

“Yes,” Elena replied. “In great detail.”

“With Smith?”

“Yes with Smith.”

“I see,” anger replaced some of the defeated look in Thompson’s eyes. Elena wondered if Thompson outranked Smith. If so she had a feeling Smith was going to be in some hot water very shortly. She also had the feeling there might be a new list of questions drawn up. Hopefully she could pass them to Peter.

“We will have to speak with him about that,” Thompson said.

“You might want to also discuss including a proper set of semaphore flags on board. Not everyone would stop for men waving white t-shirts.”

“We will do that,” he assured her. Thompson and Murphy did not stay long after. They took up the Tupperware containing their extra crewman’s meal and Thompson’s leftovers. Thompson thanked them for the meal and they made their way back to their ship.

“Well,” Mateo said leaning on the rail and watching the raft’s progress. “I have to say that was a very in military like meeting.”

“It was, wasn’t it,” Elena commented. “I guess we should go let the other’s know they can come out again.”

“Yup, and I’m going to see if Benjamin has any more of those figs.”