Читать книгу Wildfire - P.Z. Johns - Страница 14

Chapter 7

The Pilot’s Lounge

Peter Griffin was in the main pilot’s lounge with Doug. They were standing at the bar with a few other pilots around them. Griffin hadn’t bought a drink since he arrived, but there was a line of full glasses on the bar in front of him. These were congratulation offerings from appreciative patrons. BatWing and The Hinomaru Sun were the talk of the bar with everyone repeating how Griffin guided The Hinomaru Sun to a safe landing while flying backward. Men and women at several of the tables leaned over their drinks, sharing the same conversation. One man standing at the end of the bar had his arms raised in front of him. He was trying to show what the two ships must have looked like during the approach, as his left arm was out in front of his chest with his forearm and fingers pointing upward to the right at about forty-five degrees. His right arm was at shoulder level with his right forearm pointing downward to the left. The fingers on his two hands were touching. Everyone understood that the hand pointing upward was The Hinomaru Sun and the other hand pointing down was BatWing and the two ships were nose to nose during the landing approach.

The regular fliers and bar patrons knew the pilot of The Hinomaru Sun and were telling the newcomers about her. While they were saying how she was probably one of the better fighter pilots, they were also exaggerating stories to emphasize her skill and nerve. Most of the men though didn’t know her real name. They only knew her as the Samurai or just Sam. Her full name is Akiko Hoshi, which translates from the Japanese to be “star child.” Her parents must have had a poetic side.

They also knew that she was part of the spaceport security team, and a very formidable part. Technically, the security team was the ZTSF, Zeus Terrestrial Security Force, but informally, they are “the peacekeepers” because that was precisely what happened when they were around. While they were responsible to protect the base, they had no real jurisdiction anywhere on the planet, but when a pair of peacekeepers walked down a street in a town elsewhere on the planet, things quiet down. Outside of Zeus, most villagers and locals, and even military police, knew the effect that the peacekeepers had on their local areas. Everyone knew they could sleep more comfortably when the peacekeepers were around.

The peacekeepers normally worked in pairs, except for the Samurai. She worked alone, but this was not a vulnerability for Akiko because she was very much an army of one.

Just then, the front door of the bar opened, and a woman stepped in. She looked around. Everyone knew the Samurai had arrived. She had a small frame, stood about five foot three, and was twenty-eight years old. Her clothing was Japanese, wearing knee-high boots with loose pants tucked into them. She had a long white tunic that had an artful embroidered red dragon on the upper left.

But what was most noticeable about her were her weapons. She had a long knife strapped to the outside of her left boot. She belted her tunic with a holster that carried a laser pistol. Another handle could be seen on her left side, but it was slightly toward her back, so it was not immediately obvious if it was the handle for another gun or a knife. Her most prominent weapon was strapped to her back; her katana or Japanese samurai sword rose above her left shoulder for easy access with her right hand.

The room fell silent as all eyes watched Akiko. They had given her Griffin’s description while she was in the sick bay, and she started toward him. As she approached, men’s voices were loud, “Way to go, Sam! Nice flying, Samurai! Here’s to you, Sam!” With this, some clapping started; people were rising to their feet. By the time Akiko got to Peter Griffin, the room was in a full standing ovation. She stopped a few feet in front of Griffin and gave a very sincere, respectful, and traditional Japanese bow. Bending at her waist, her torso was parallel to the ground and her hands placed on her legs above her knees. She held her bow for almost six seconds, then rose, and extended her hand to Griffin. He took her hand in both of his, smiled, and shook it warmly.

Just then, the bartender had come around to where the guests of honor were standing. He reached between them and grabbed both of their wrists and pulled their hands apart. “Excuse me”—he smiled—“but you have some cheering fans here.” With that, he raised both their arms above their heads in a victory salute, like a referee holding up the hands of two champion Olympians. It was a little awkward for Akiko to stand with them because both the bartender and Griffin stood about a foot taller than her. But she enjoyed it. The patrons in the bar clapped and chanted, “Sam, Sam, Sam…”

The applause settled, and Akiko took a step forward to the people in the room. She bowed to all the bar patrons; then standing straight, she raised her hands to quiet them. She started to speak but could not be heard over the chatter in the bar.

The bartender stepped beside her and yelled in a loud voice, “Quiet down, guys. The Samurai wants to talk.”

Akiko started when they gradually quieted, “I am honored that you give me your praise. Your respect means a great deal to me. Each one of you in this room knows that, as pilots, our first duty is to return with our cargo. That is what today was about. All of you here understand that. That is all I was doing today. But there also is another in this room who deserves your praise more than I. What is more important, I would not have reached the ground in one piece if he had not helped.” Akiko turned to face Peter. “Captain Peter Griffin, I thank you.” And with that, she bowed respectfully again.

Instead of moving toward her, Griffin reached toward the bar and produced a round tray. It had a small white china carafe and two smaller white china shot glasses with a yellow lily painted on them. He offered her a glass of the warmed sake and took the other glass. As he started to turn back to the bar, Akiko stopped him, reaching out with her free hand to grab the small carafe that still had liquor in it. She turned to the room, held up the carafe of sake, and smiled. “The first round is on me!”

The men in the room cheered, and Akiko looked at the bartender. “That is, if my credit is good here.” He smiled and nodded.

Activity and conversation in the bar returned to its normal level. Griffin motioned to Doug who was still standing at the bar. He looked at Akiko and patted Doug on the shoulder. “This is Doug Garder, my copilot.”

She looked at Doug and could tell he wasn’t sure what to say. She bowed politely to Doug. “Please call me Sam. You have a very skilled teacher. You will learn much by studying under Captain Griffin. Also, you were making me very nervous today reading out our altitude. I wanted to tell you to shut up, but I knew your role was vital to our success.” Doug wasn’t sure how to react, and he glanced at Griffin who was smiling. Akiko placed her hand on his cheek. “I deeply thank you also for your help today.”

With that, she turned to Griffin and smiled. “I have something for you.” She placed the sake on the bar, reached inside her tunic, and pulled out an envelope. When she handed it to Griffin, he held it in one hand, and by lifting the opening with his thumb, he could tell it was money. Even without counting it, he could tell it was a lot of money.

He handed it back to her. “Samurai, I don’t want your money. Today was not about payment. Today was about helping a pilot in trouble. That’s all. Please take this back.”

“Captain Griffin, I do not mean to insult. Your aid allowed me to bring my cargo back. It will fetch a very high price, and you deserve a portion of the profit. They called it ‘salvage’ in the ancient sea days, and you earned a share. I only mean to be fair.”

Akiko’s cargo would sell at a handsome profit. She knew what it was worth, but there was one thing she wasn’t saying to Captain Griffin. In fact, she didn’t even tell Musica in her debriefing earlier. That was the real reason she wanted to land safely, an alien piece that was especially interesting. She took it from a wrecked Naylean cruiser that had crashed on an asteroid. When she picked it up to examine it, she knew it automatically sent out a beacon signal, and that was the reason the five Naylean gunships came after her. She didn’t know what it was, but it must have been important to them because the Nayleans fought hard to get it back.

It was a silver alloy and had odd markings she didn’t understand. It was the shape of what is called a Torus knot, a metal ring, but it looped back into itself that formed the shape of a sailor’s or boy-scout knot. It was about six inches long, and it weighed about one pound. The more Akiko thought about it, the more she knew it was important. Especially because of the way Nayleans were prepared to die for it.

Captain Griffin smiled and answered, “Please call me Peter.” He placed the envelope back in Akiko’s hand. “I helped you because I was aiding a ship in distress. That is also an ancient custom of the sea. I helped because you had a need. Perhaps you will respond in the same way someday when I am in distress. Your friendship is payment.”

She placed her hand on the envelope and took it back. “Very well, I understand, but before you return it, I give you fair warning.” She leaned close to him and spoke, “My gratitude does not include the removal of my clothing.”

Griffin looked at her and chuckled. “You are very attractive, but I assure you, I am not looking for anything in return.” Then smiling warmly, he added, “I am most happy we have lived to tell the tale, and we meet face-to-face.”