Pilot: Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The next few days passed in an odd game of tag. Elena appeared in the bazaar as she was supposed to, letting Smith and Jonathan catch sight of her. Then she would do her level best to disappear before they could catch her. If she escaped the day was hers. If they caught her she would spend more time shopping. By the time her grandfather returned and the Wind Dancer was ready to return, Elena never wanted to go shopping again. Although she did have to admit her rooms now looked a little less industrial.

“I suppose it is for the best,” she thought as she ascended the docking tube and once again took he place on the Wind Dancer. She dropped her bag off and readied the Wind Dancer for departure as every one else settled. As expected Smith and Jonathan saw her and made a beeline for her location. Smith however seemed to have left his demanding questions back on the docking facility and returned to the silent appraisal that he had adopted after the fight with her grandfather.

‘Here’s hoping it lasts,’ she thought. The docking clamps released and Elena guided the Wind Dancer back to the encircling ribbon of water. They circled the docking facility once and then headed off into the black, a ribbon of blue trailing beneath them. Jonathan was taking pictures and Smith was once again studying the instruments.

Elena shrugged philosophically and figured it was pretty much going to be a repeat of the trip out. This time however, safely stowed below decks was a large shipment ready to be unloaded at what was now her homeport and repackaged for sale in Nibbles. A few days later, Peter would be returning with a similar load and the military would be on its own once more.

‘No more meetings,’ she thought happily. ‘No more rapid fire questions and accusations.’ Out of the corner of her eye she watched Jonathan snap pictures with his digital camera and wondered if anyone had told them that. Elena had only been asked to meet with them to correct their information and take them through the channels once.

She had been told any further meetings would go through Peter and Peter alone. Elena glanced at Smith. She couldn’t see him enjoying that. ‘Add to that the fact that we are all going to be running the schedule of the channels for a while and none of us will be available and he is likely to go insane.’ Once Nibbles was up and running, the Storm Chaser would be making supply runs during the season as well. ‘So I won’t be there for him to fuss at anyway.’ The thought brightened her.

‘And the Wind Dancer won’t be around for them to study either since grandfather is taking her right out of port after dropping us off.’ The ship would circling back to unload cargo later. ‘This is the last run I’ll make on the wind Dancer.’ She realized abruptly.

Elena patted the ship affectionately. She would miss it. She had grown up on the Wind Dancer’s decks. Boots, the ships cat circled around her ankles. Elena thought of Spin and the Storm Chaser. The melancholy faded a little. Across the deck Smith and Jonathan prowled still looking for the instruments she had hidden. Since they were built into the hull and below the water line, she didn't have much hope for their quest.

She could almost feel sorry for them. No ship, the only pilot they knew off where they couldn’t reach her and only Peter for a contact, when they could reach him. She had a feeling happiness would not reign supreme. Feeling slightly petty, Elena smiled. She adjusted the Wind Dancer’s heading and turned the ship for home.

Author's Note:
This is the final chapter of Pilot. I am currently working on the second in this series, entitled Storm Chaser and will begin posting on July 14. I want to thank everyone who gave their comments and suggestions. These were incorporated in the final draft. Pilot wil be coming out in print through Brown Street Press. (www.brownstreetpress.com) I'll post here (and do the happy dance of doom) when I get an actual release date. Thanks again everyone. v.